


romance isn’t dead: a memoir by nino lahiffe

by ryukogo



Series: memories in mosaic [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dragon Miraculous, Dragon!Nino, F/F, F/M, Fox Miraculous, Fox!Kagami - Freeform, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth Identity Reveal, Gen, Good Parent Tomoe Tsurugi, Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, Kwami Swap, M/M, Multi, Other, Slow Burn, tomoe specifically said 'fuck gabriel agreste lives'
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:48:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 52,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23700340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryukogo/pseuds/ryukogo
Summary: The thing about romance was this: Nino barely had any experience with it. He’d crushed on many people in his lifetime, and dated exactly one person. That relationship had ended up, quite literally, in flames. (Please don’t remind him about it too often.)So really, could you blame him for unconsciously blocking out the possibility that maybe he was beginning to crush on the girl who’d thrown him into a bush the first time they met?And then there was the girl under the mask that showed up sometimes, perched on his railing…---Sort-of sequel to 'nino lahiffe and the road to forgiveness'; in which Nino ends up eating his words (and hat) more than once, Kagami is none the wiser to his affections (for the most part), and everyone else around them experiences deja vu regarding the two of them.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marc Anciel/Aurore Beauréal/Chloé Bourgeois/Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Nino Lahiffe/Kagami Tsurugi, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Series: memories in mosaic [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1704493
Comments: 210
Kudos: 421





	1. page one: midnight visit

**Author's Note:**

> this is a LOT less story-heavy than NLatRtF in that it's more ninogami-focused; just some moments between the two of them in their daily lives, in and out of the mask
> 
> sorting through my drabble backlog is going to be hell

The first time she visits post-Lila is at the stroke of midnight.

It’s a normal school night, and Nino’s taking advantage of the fact that Komodo isn’t on the patrol roster for the night by making advancements on his pile of homework. A leg propped up on his desk and his headphones askew, all he was currently doing was discussing with his project partner Ivan regarding the report they’d been assigned. He and Ivan had already ironed out much of the bulk in person during break, so all they had to do now at home was iron out the finer details. They were chill.

“He’s steadfast and reliable, isn’t he?” Longg mentions, watching as Nino’s fingers dance across the keyboard to reply to Ivan. “You’re fortunate to be partnered up with this one. A fair weather friend he is not.”

Nino shrugs, carefully balancing himself on his rolly chair while pulling his headphones back onto his head, leaving one ear out to be able to hear his kwami. “Yeah, you’re gonna have to clarify what you mean by that, dude. Not exactly in the know with  _ all  _ the idioms.”

“What I meant to say was, this… Ivan?” Longg hovers up to stare at the name on the screen before tapping on it with a nub. “He is reliable. That is all I am trying to say.”

“Ahhh.”

It’s quiet for a few minutes, the only sounds being the occasional clacking of keys whenever Nino went to reply to Ivan and the muffled sound of music wafting through Nino’s headphones. Longg had gone off to hop up and down on Nino’s pillow, testing its softness with each bounce, his tail whacking against it each time.

It was still a mystery to Nino as to why Ladybug and Chat Noir had decided that the Dragon Miraculous was best left with him instead of with the so-called Guardian. He didn’t mind playing host to the Dragon kwami, no, but… he was still in doubt that he was the best person to be the Dragon. And yet, they’d trusted and believed in him… he couldn’t let them down this time. Not when he got another chance like this.

Seeing as that he was a fresh hero, he had yet to be assigned a proper patrol route and time, what with Ladybug still figuring out how to rearrange the assignments with everyones’ civilian schedules, so tonight, he was scot free.

_ POOF. _

Nino hears the sound of a pillow deflating, and cranes his head around to see that Longg had accidentally ripped a hole clean through the pillow with one of his horns. “Oh,  _ dude. _ That is  _ so  _ uncool.”

“My apologies,” Longg hangs his head in shame as Nino stretches over as far as he can to assess the damage. “I got overexcited. I will go seclude myself in my shame for a few moments as punishment for-”

He stops suddenly.

Nino reaches for the pillow with his fingers, to no avail. “What’s up, Longg?”

“I must hide,” is Longg’s only response as he phases through Nino’s bed and goes to hide under it. Nino’s not exactly sure  _ why  _ he’d felt the need to do so, but he didn’t really feel like asking at the moment, too occupied with reaching over for his pillow without getting up from his chair.  _ Just a little more… _

The windows blow open, and Nino’s treated to a strong gust of wind.  _ Yikes. Windy tonight- YES! _

His fingers snag one end of the pillow, and he pulls the ruined pillow over to him to look at the hole. It was like a giant puncher had poked a hole right through it - the stuffing leaks out of the puncture as he squeezes it gently.

“Do you know how to sew?”

Nino, startled, shrieks and falls off his chair with a loud  _ BANG.  _ The pillow flies into the air and lands unceremoniously on top of his head.

Inari is unimpressed as she sits on Nino’s balcony, not moving an inch as Nino goes to recover from his graceless fall. When he goes to stare at her, she’s seated primly atop the railing, hands on either side of her and gripping the railing to keep herself from falling off.

A feather from his pillow tickles his nose. He sneezes.

“What?” He ends up asking dumbly.

Inari cocks her head to the side. “Do you know how to sew?”

“I- uh- well, I know how to repair my own shirts more or less but-” Nino shakes his head wildly, making the pillow fall to the floor of his room before he says, “Forget that though. Why are you- aren’t you patrol- why are you  _ here? _ ”

Inari doesn’t answer for a few minutes, making Nino sweat slightly. Had he accidentally made her angry?

“... It’s midnight. Patrol usually finishes around this time, allowing us to return home by 1AM,” She finally answers, prompting Nino to finally get up and attempt to approach her - only to accidentally choke himself because he’d forgotten his headphones were still plugged into his computer. He tugs on the headphones-

“ **_No one's here to help, so I'll have to handle things myself. It's not so bad, here in the no-judgement zone-”_ **

Nino  _ slams  _ the ‘x’ on the tab for his music, immediately silencing the song.

“D. Don’t ask,” Nino stammers when he turns around to face Inari again. He wasn’t sure, but he had the distinct feeling Inari was smiling at him from behind the mask. Or laughing at him. It was hard to tell with how still she was. “Uh. Why don’t you… come… in…?”

Inari shifts very slightly. “Are you allowing me in?”

“Yes?” Nino raises an eyebrow as the Fox hero cautiously enters his room. “It’s not like you haven’t been in here before.” Beat. “GAH- I mean, like! Uh! You were here before! Akuma! Jar! My jar! You caught!”

Inari slowly looks around. “And as I said before, breaking and entering isn’t a good thing. I was waiting for you to allow me in.”

“That’s fair,” Nino acquiesces, taking a seat on his bed. When Inari doesn’t follow, he awkwardly gestures to his bed and pats the side. “... You uh. Wanna sit?”

Inari stares at him.

Nino doesn’t know  _ why,  _ but the stare shanks him right in the stomach. “Guh. I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t  _ wanna _ , it’s just a host thing and well maybe you’re tired after all that patrolling and I am gonna shut up now-”

“... I  _ am  _ a bit tired. A quick rest before I return home isn’t unreasonable. Thank you, Nino,” Inari says earnestly, sitting down next to him on the bed. The metal of her armor clinks against each other as she goes to somehow sit  _ seiza _ style on his bed. “Your bed is very comfortable.”

Nino laughs awkwardly, rubbing at his neck. “Thanks. It gets super hard to get out of bed in the mornings because of that, actually - not that I succumb, of course. To the softness, I mean.” God, why could he not just  _ think  _ before he spoke. “So! Uh. If you’re just here to take a quick break… do you… want anything?”

When Inari’s mask turns towards him, he can  _ feel  _ her eyebrow raise behind it. “I want to rest.”

“No, I mean like… does your kwami maybe want a break? I don’t know what the fox eats-” He really didn’t. “- but there’s probably something in the fridge if yours wants one?”

Inari cocks her head slightly to the side. “I can’t detransform here, Nino. You know this, don’t you?”

“Sorry! Sorry, I know- it’s just-” Nino jabs a thumb towards the bathroom. “It’s just a suggestion for the like. Future, I mean. You can hide in my bathroom and detransform there while we go find something for your kwami to eat whenever you need it. Just… just saying.”

“Hm…”

“Uh… you don’t have to though! Just offering,” Nino didn’t know if he had the right to mention that Bastille had dropped by here before, so he keeps quiet about it for the time being.

Inari shakes her head. “Not tonight, I’m afraid. I think I will simply sit here with you and pass the time until I feel ready to take off again. But… thank you for the kind offer. I might take you up on that one day during a battle.”

“If you’re just gonna chill here for a bit tonight…” Nino inches off the bed to go pull up his music player on his computer. “You wanna listen to some tunes? I got a lot of music. We’ll find something we both like eventually.”

Inari unfolds both legs so that her feet are resting on the floor instead this time. She cocks her head, considering it, before eventually asking, “... What do you have in mind?”

* * *

At some point, during the evening, he dozes off, back against the headrest of his bed, sitting next to Inari just listening to some lo-fi hiphop he was pretty sure he hadn’t added to his playlist before. Youtube algorithm was weird like that - he tried not to question it too often.

When he wakes up again at 2AM, Inari is already gone - but not without a small message on a sticky note stuck to his monitor.

_ ‘Thank you for having me’ _

Nino tucks the sticky note inside his desk for safekeeping before going back to sleep on the torn up pillow. A feather poking out tickles his nose, and he sneezes himself off the bed, landing on the floor with a crash.

“You have a lot to learn before you can be as graceful as your predecessor, hatchling,” Longg teases from his spot on the bed.

Nino groans before climbing back up. “Go back to sleep, Longg.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nino was listening to some jams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNo0pFHkBHQ


	2. page two: fencing match

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if it's not clear yet by now, they're in vaguely chronological order, but more spaced out

“Hey, Nino, you’ve never attended one of my fencing competitions, right?”

Nino hits pause on the video game to look at Adrien, eyebrow raised. The two of them were currently at Nino’s house - with Adrien currently there under the guise of doing yet again more pair work. It was a  _ really  _ flimsy excuse since Ms. Bustier didn’t give partner work  _ that  _ often, yet Nino had to hand it to Adrien’s bodyguard - he knew when to keep his mouth shut regarding Adrien’s whereabouts.

“I was thinking… you wanna watch the one I’m participating in next Saturday?” Adrien offers. The blond is stretched out across Nino’s bed, drumming his legs on the side of the bed like a teenage girl giddily writing in her diary. Their ‘homework’ is spread out all over the bed like fallen rose petals. Nino is only the  _ slightest  _ bit frustrated that Adrien had somehow managed to turn his current pose into something photoshoot-worthy. “My father’s gonna be busy trying to clear the Gabriel name after what Lila did still… some public appearances and all that.”

_ Oh yeah… _

When Gabriel Agreste had been asked regarding Lila’s involvement with the brand, his documented response had been that the brand had  _ ‘been caught unawares by the unsavory actions she had taken, and assures the public that her name is to be in line for blacklisting from the fashion industry for such misconduct and impropriety’.  _ Nino had called bullshit on that, as had most of their friend group, of course, but considering the measures that had been taken to clear the brand name they didn’t discuss it much further.

“I mean, sure, dude, I’ll go - I’ll have to check in with my mom first if she doesn’t need me to watch Chris that day,” Nino grins. “This is gonna be so awesome. I’m gonna get to see you in an  _ actual competition _ . It’s nothing like your school matches, right?”

Adrien shakes his head, smiling. “Definitely not. You’ll see, Nino - you can go with Marinette if you do! She’s going to watch too-”

“Of course.”

“- so you two can sit next to each other there!” Adrien finishes, as though Nino hadn’t interjected. “Kagami’s going too, by the way. You should totally keep an eye out for her. I can’t remember if she’s on the roster, but who knows! I might end up fighting against her!”

The idea makes Nino’s ears go a little pink, and Adrien smiles cattily at him.

* * *

Marinette, as is unfortunately typical of her, is late.

Sitting alone on the bleachers is Nino, drumming his fingers on his thigh to a rhythm only he can hear as he waits for the competition to begin. It’s not as claustrophobic as he’d initially thought it would be, like other sports - the seats are spaced out comfortably and it’s not poorly ventilated, and his spot is not too far away and too high that he’d miss most of the action.

Longg pokes his head out from under the cap. “Is it beginning yet?”

“Not yet,” Nino says. “Well, in a minute,  _ yeah _ , but not right  _ now  _ now, though. You can’t stay out for long though, Longg - people might see you.”

The kwami hums. Nino feels Longg’s tail lightly thwacking against his head. “Perhaps, if I stay peeking out of your cap like this. However, you are wearing a jacket today, are you not?”

Well, yeah, he  _ was _ wearing a hoodie that day - though that was more based on a warning from Adrien.  _ ‘Sometimes it gets REALLY cold there - though I never feel it myself because I’m always sweating up a storm after a match.’ _

Longg, grinning proudly, immediately dives for the deep front pocket in Nino’s hoodie. “Issue has been solved. I will reside in this pocket to be able to watch the match in absolute serenity, so long as you hold a hand to hide me from the people looking from the side I peek out of.”

“It better be only one side,” Nino warns. “I can’t keep  _ both  _ my hands weirdly angled.”

The dragon kwami wiggles inside the pocket for a few moments. Nino assumes it’s for him to find room for his tail. “It’ll be alright, hatchling,” comes his muffled voice from within the pocket. “I am a smart and good-sighted dragon kwami. I need only sit in one spot for a very long time to watch. Hold on, is that your friend, Adrien?”

Nino looks up from Longg and squints. Coming from one side is the unmistakable figure of Adrien, face schooled into a serious expression as he slides on his helmet. With it on, it was hard to distinguish him from any of the other competitors, even with his sword in hand. Or glove, so to say.

As if picking up on his line of thought, Longg comments, “Best pay attention today, hatchling. Fencing is a careful, practiced art you would most definitely benefit from, seeing as that our weapon when transformed is a sword. While it is no saber or rapier, there is no harm in observing the body language of people such as your friend here when it comes to facing opponents with blades.”

Longg talked a  _ lot _ . Nino had realized this sometime between the Lila Incident and around the third time Inari had dropped by his house after a patrol - his kwami had the tendency to  _ ramble _ , and when he did,  _ boy  _ did he ramble. In a good way, though - when Longg spoke, it wasn’t condescending. He was like a very enthusiastic historian genuinely trying to engage with his audience - even if he was a little out of touch with current trends and the like.

“NINO!” And there came Marinette. “Sorry I’m late - Mom made me deliver a few things to the Lavillants before I left the house.” The girl clad in all pink takes a seat next to him - though unfortunately it was the side Longg was peeking out of. Nino instinctively curves his hand a little over Longg’s head as Marinette asks, “Has it started?”

Nino looks over at Adrien. “It’s about to. That’s our boy over there, actually.”

“Before you do anything,  _ don’t  _ scream,” Marinette warns him.

“Why would I do that?” Nino blinks a few times before turning to look at Marinette painfully slowly, a dawning look of realization in his eyes. “Wait, don’t tell me you screamed the first time you watched Adrien-”

“I was  _ very  _ enthusiastic,” Marinette grumbles, crossing her arms. Nino cackles up a storm just as Adrien lands the first hit on his first opponent. “Hey! It’s  _ not  _ funny!”

“Oh, it absolutely fucking is.”

* * *

By the semi-finals, Nino is already dozing off a little, head drooping on Marinette’s shoulder. As enthusiastic as he was for Adrien, he didn’t want to interrupt the match or potentially distract him by a poorly-timed cheer. Marinette had already warned him against it - it wasn’t like every other sport, after all. It was a bit more… clean cut.  _ Sophisticated  _ was probably the term Chloe would use, but Chloe wasn’t there.

Adrien’s next match flashes on the screen, and it takes Nino about ten whole seconds to realize the name on the screen. He then proceeds to nearly bump heads with Marinette when he realizes it.

“Wait- holy shit- that’s Kagami,” Nino points at it, looking at Marinette incredulously.

Marinette raises an eyebrow. “... Nino, Kagami’s been in the preliminaries from the beginning. Weren’t you paying attention?”

No, no he was not. But he wasn’t about to admit  _ that  _ out loud. How had he missed Kagami’s name popping up in the prelims? Was he  _ that  _ zoned out the first time? He was sorely tempted to ask Longg why he hadn’t nudged his hand when Kagami had first shown up on the  _ piste  _ when Kagami approaches the  _ piste _ in that exact moment, brandishing her sabre in a threatening manner.

Nino hated that he’d missed her the first time. Her posture was incredibly distinct - rigid yet free-flowing compared to Adrien’s bouncy and aggressive one.

The referee calls out, “ _ En garde? Prez? ALLEZ! _ ”

Kagami strikes first.

The first point goes to her.

“Do  _ not, _ ” Marinette holds onto his arm and grips it, pulling him down. He hadn’t even been aware he’d been standing and about to cheer until Marinette had pulled him back to his seat. “We went through this already, Nino! You can cheer when everything’s over!”

“ _ En garde? Prez? ALLEZ! _ ”

The second point goes to Adrien. Now it’s Nino’s turn to pull her back, much to her embarrassment.

Eventually, Kagami wins the bout by three points and a draw with her as priority, and as Adrien shakes her hand Marinette stands up, making Nino look up at her curiously. She winks before saying, “I’m gonna go meet up with Adrien at the exit since this means he’s out of the competition. You coming?”

“I… uh…” Nino’s eyes flicker over to Kagami waiting for her final challenger, still at the  _ piste _ , and mumbles, “I uh… I’ll just catch up with you guys later.”

Marinette, following his line of sight, only ‘ah’s in understanding. “You gonna watch Kagami?”

“... Maybe…?”

He’s a little unnerved regarding the catty grin on her face - it’s almost the same one that Adrien had shown him the other week when he’d mentioned that Kagami was most likely participating. “ _ Okaaaaay,  _ Nino, if you say so. It’s just one more match, anyway. We’ll be outside in the heat if you need us!”

“Okay…” Nino’s eyes are already trained on the final match of the day, watching Kagami shift into the battle stance. “Uh… I’ll just be here. Yeah.”

He doesn’t see it, but Marinette rolls her eyes at him, giggling, before hopping down the bleachers to meet with her practically-boyfriend.

* * *

Kagami wins. Nino feels extremely justified in the way he shouts and cheers for her. That was  _ his  _ friend that won, dammit! Fuck  _ yeah  _ he had the right to cheer super loudly!

This, however, draws everyone’s attention to him - especially Kagami’s, whose eyes are wide at the sight of him. Almost immediately she deposits her helmet inside her fencing bag sitting next to her mother on the bleachers before she  _ darts  _ up towards where he’s seated like a missile - so fast that when she skids to a stop in front of him she very nearly overshoots it and almost knocks him over.

“Nino,” she says breathlessly - a combination of post-competition exhaustion and the adrenaline. He watches as she seems to bounce back and forth between her heels as if to stave off the adrenaline rush. “I didn’t know you were here watching. I would’ve come to say hi prior.”

Nino grins, tipping his cap at her with a free hand. The other is still hiding Longg in his hoodie. “I was here to watch Adrien, actually. He mentioned you might be in the competition, but I… kinda zoned out through most of it? Sorry.”

“You’re fine, Nino - most of the preliminaries aren’t very interesting to me either,” Kagami snorts, her bouncing slowly dying away and allowing her to stand up at her full height once more, just as regal and composed as she always is. “Is this your first time at a competition? People don’t usually scream like that.”

Nino’s ears tint an embarrassing shade of red, as do his cheeks. The sight makes Kagami laugh. “Yeah… Marinette warned me about it. I just, uh… really wanted to cheer for you when you won, though. It just… got outta me.”

“Well…” Kagami tucks a lock of hair behind her ear before looking up at him, smile on her face. “Thank you. I appreciate the support a lot.”

_ She’s super pretty,  _ is the first thought that smacks Nino over the head at the sight of the tired, sore, but positively  _ glowing  _ Kagami Tsurugi, dressed in sweaty fencing gear and breathing heavily - and immediately after Nino takes that thought, throws that to the ground, and stomps on it like the one guy in a Vine he’d seen once.

_ FORBIDDEN THOUGHTS! _

“Nino?”  _ SHIT.  _ “Are you… okay?”

“YEAH! Uh- that is-” Nino gulps.  _ Do not say a fucking WORD about what you just thought.  _ “You uh… you fight good.”

Kagami’s face scrunches up in what he considers adorable confusion, and he internally chokes. “... Thank you?”

“I-It’s a good thing,” Nino reassures, face red as a beet. May God strike him dead where he stood, right now. “Let’s just… let’s just go meet up with Marinette and Adrien already.”

* * *

Adrien asks him why his face is so red. Nino does not breathe a single word. Nuh uh.


	3. page three: one little slip

It’s his turn to go patrolling today.

As Carapace, he hadn’t been given the chance to properly join Ladybug and Chat Noir in their nightly patrols due to the fact that they’d been temporary heroes - only called upon as needed by the akuma the main two were facing. As Komodo, however, he now had a better look into the responsibilities that came with permanently wielding a Miraculous and being chosen by Paris’s beloved duo.

Ladybug sends him in the opposite direction from Bastille, who only nods before coasting away on the rooftops of Paris on his shield like a waveboard. Komodo watches him a little jealously as he goes, having not really thought to do that during his time as the Turtle.

“I bet if you asked, he’d let you try,” Chat Noir sidles up to him, commenting on Bastille’s speedy departure. “He’s a chill guy, that Bastille.”

Komodo, nonchalantly, spins on his heel and ends up whacking Chat in the shin with his tail, making the black cat yelp. “No thanks. It’s not like he knows I was Carapace, anyway.”

“You could’ve just  _ said  _ so!” Chat whines. “No tail smacking in my Minecraft server, Komodo, c’mon! I don’t hit you with  _ mine _ !”

“What are you boys fighting about?” Ladybug asks, approaching the two with her hands on her hips. She raises an eyebrow at the sight of Chat favoring his shin and the fact that Komodo is turned away before guessing. “Did Chat say something, Komodo?”

Komodo snorts as Chat defends, “In my humble defense, I was merely making the suggestion that he borrow Bastille’s shield for a joyride.”

“It’s a patrol, not ‘goofing off time’,” Ladybug reminds. “Though if you finish early tonight, I don’t see any harm in you seeking out Bastille before he goes home. Just make sure you actually  _ make  _ your rounds before midnight hits, you two?”

Chat salutes and blows a kiss at her before falling backwards and off of the Eiffel Tower. Komodo hears the sound of his baton extending, and sure enough the cat is already bounding off towards his assigned quadrant, doing magnificent leaps as he goes.

Ladybug places a hand on Komodo’s shoulder. “Thanks for taking tonight’s shift, Komodo. Kaiser couldn’t make it today, and Medusa’s already had three days this week, so it’s a relief to know you can cover for him.”

“It’s no big deal, Ladybug,” Komodo says honestly. “Wish I had his wings though. Would make patrolling so much easier.”

Ladybug clicks her tongue in sympathy. “You and me both. I’ve been thinking of redesigning my suit to include them since ladybugs  _ do  _ have wings - maybe you could do the same for you?”

“... Not really my style,” Komodo admits, glancing over his shoulder a little to look at his ‘tail’. “The fact that I even have a tail stitched on is already weird enough - I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself if I added wings too.”

Ladybug taps on her chin. “If you’re worried about the tail, it’s something you must have unconsciously wished for. All our costumes are based on our own subconscious desires, which is why a lot of the heroes don’t look the same attire-wise. You must have wanted the tail for  _ something _ .”

“Well. It’s better than Chat Noir’s bell, at least,” Komodo mumbles. “... Right?”

Ladybug shrugs helplessly. “You tell me, scalie boy.”

“HEY!”

* * *

It’s around eleven or so when Komodo finds himself perched on the edge of a roof, taking a brief breather from running around the rooftops of Paris to just take in the view of Paris at night. From where he’s seated, he can see a good portion of the Seine, the moon’s reflection slightly distorted with the rippling of the river’s waters. Despite how late it was, most of Paris was still bathed in a warm light, illuminating most of its streets for what few civilians still roamed. Some portions of the city were darker than the rest due to a more significant lack of lights, but they were still bright.

It’s a few minutes before Komodo realizes that he’s in familiar territory - what tips him off is the little shop of candles and flowers sitting a few feet away from where he’d perched.  _ Hold on a tick… this is Kagami’s street, isn’t it? _

Standing up, he carefully jumps on top of a chimney and then proceeds to hopscotch his way on top of each one in the row, his eyes mentally correcting the sights below him and adjusting the lighting so that it was more of a late afternoon than in the middle of the night. Sure enough, it was the street he and Kagami had raced down one warm afternoon - but it looked so  _ different _ in the nighttime, the only lights being the spaced out street lights bordering their street and the two lamps hanging on either side of their gate.

Komodo looks towards the Tsurugi house itself, and sees one of the lights still on in an upstairs room. Something in him told him that it was either a maid doing late night laundry, or Kagami herself was still awake.

He hoped it was the latter.

_ … I shouldn’t,  _ Komodo eventually tells himself after a few moments, sighing. He moves to continue bounding off and finishing off the patrol route-

\- when the window with the lights on swivels open, and he sees Kagami herself opening the window, yawning. In the bright light of her room, he sees that she’s in her pajamas, a deep ruby red, and her movements are already pretty sluggish as she stretches one last time.

A roof tile shatters under his boot, and Komodo stumbles slightly and nearly falls off the roof, making Kagami perk up suddenly in alertness. He hopes to God that she doesn’t look at him and figure out where he is -

\- but she  _ does,  _ looking up at him from where she’s standing at her balcony with wide eyes and a rather confused stare. Komodo feels the tips of his ears warm considerably as he hurriedly schools himself into a more respectable stance, waving awkwardly at her from across the street.

Kagami, while confused, tentatively raises a hand and waves back at him. She doesn’t smile, but she’s not scared off, at least.

_ Well. That could’ve gone better,  _ Komodo internally grouses, taking another step-

A roof tile shatters again, and Komodo yelps, tumbling off the roof - only to find himself dangling by the fake tail, having snagged itself on a sharp edge. Komodo dangles upside down as he looks at his precarious situation with incredulity, groaning.  _ Oh, for Gods’ sakes. _

With his Miraculous giving him enhanced senses, he picks up on a gigglesnort, and hurriedly he twists his body around the best he can to look at Kagami still standing at her balcony. Her hand is demurely placed over her mouth, but it does little to hide the smile in her eyes as she gestures… behind her? What was she grabbing?

_ Oh! _

Komodo reaches for his sword, and looks to Kagami for guidance. She mimes a stabbing -  _ did she want him to stab himself?! Wait… wait… no… stab the… OH. _ With her silent instruction, he turns the sword around and swings back and forth, trying to gain momentum, before he jabs it into the roof he’d nearly fallen off of, lodging the blade tip in between two of the more secure tiles and hoisting himself up. He lands a little less gracefully than he’d like back on the roof, but he’s back on his feet.

Komodo examines the hole in his tail ruefully, reminded of when Longg had punctured his pillow, but remembers that he still had to thank Kagami for her help. Thankfully enough, the girl is still at her balcony, and when she notices that he’s looking at her again, she cocks her head to the side.

Komodo gives her a pair of thumbs up, mouthing ‘thank you’.

Kagami’s cocked head straightens back out, and she smiles. The movement of her mouth is minimal, but Komodo thinks he heard a whisper of ‘you’re welcome’ on the wind before she retreats back into her room, sliding the screen window shut - and turning the lights off.

It takes Komodo a few more minutes before he takes off again, this time to wrap up the patrol. He doesn’t notice it, but he’s smiling to himself the entire time.


	4. page four: first impressions

People are different when out of battle, Komodo finds. Most of the time, anyway.

When he and Inari had first met, it was in the heat of battle against Rena Rage and Sentipace, heat being quite literal in this situation. There had been no time to properly get to know each other, to get a feel for his teammates’ visual cues and signals - all that battle had been for him was shouted instructions and pre-provided commands from Ladybug. He’d had to admit that the initial fear of being unable to properly help as the Dragon had  _ immediately  _ been overwritten by flashes of impulse he didn’t understand - impulses that had led to a lot of his actions in his first official akuma battle.

Tonight is the first night in a long while that all the current permanent Miraculous holders would be gathering at the Eiffel Tower for a meeting altogether - and the first time Komodo would be part of it.

Ladybug is, expectedly, already there. Komodo could count on their leader to always arrive before anyone else, but he’s mildly surprised to see that Chat had yet to show up. Her partner usually was already there by the time she was according to Kaiser’s recounts.

“Evening, Komodo,” Ladybug greets as he backflips onto the metal bar she was standing on. “Glad you could make it. Brother give you any trouble?”

Komodo’s tail involuntarily swings around and nearly throws him off balance as he gives her a scandalized look.  _ “Ladybug.” _

“Don’t worry. I know for a fact we’re the only ones here so far. Chat already called me up to inform me he’d be a little late,” Ladybug reassures. At Komodo’s stare, she swings her yoyo around the perimeter as insurance. “And Inari is nowhere here too, don’t worry. Nobody’s hiding. You don’t need to be afraid.”

Komodo relaxes and nearly melts on top of the steel beam. “Sorry. You just - that’s personal information, don’t you think?”

“I wouldn’t mention it ever if there was even the slightest chance someone could be listening in,” Ladybug promises. “I think I’ve already gotten a reputation for being a stickler for secret identities, after all. Besides you guys, of course, since Chat and I gave your Miraculouses out.”

Before he can say anything in response, he picks up on a familiar buzzing sound, and he looks below him to see Kaiser Biene’s familiar golden figure spiraling upward, arms outstretched as he does a little graceful twirl in midair before landing gently in between them.

“Showoff,” Komodo grumbles.

Kaiser’s insectlike blue eyes only glance in his direction once. “Jealous, reptile boy?”

“Buzz off, Kaiser.”

“Hey, no picking fights,” Ladybug scolds as Medusa runs up the side of the tower, landing with finesse and fixing her hair briefly. Chat is quick to follow on the other side, greeting Ladybug with a bow. “Good to see you Medusa, Chat. That leaves Bastille and Inari.”

Chat squints into the distance before smiling. “If I’m not mistaken, there they are right now.”

Komodo follows his gaze to the sight of Bastille coasting across the rooftops yet again, and on his heels - well,  _ somewhat -  _ was a shadow that kept darting around and blending in with what little darkness was being provided by the City of Lights. It was perfectly on brand with the elusive Inari that Komodo had come to know out of the mask. Fond of the shadows, fond of hiding in the background...

Bastille’s shield goes flying into the air, and Bastille jumps after it, catching it in midair before landing somewhere behind Medusa, who shrieks and jumps into Kaiser’s arms at the sudden  _ clang _ ing noise of Bastille’s shield against the beam.

Kaiser peers down at her with a smile. “If you wanted me to hold you all you had to do was ask.”

“Wh-!” Komodo chokes on his laughter as Medusa wriggles out of Kaiser’s hold, the bee hero letting her go and holding his arms up in mock surrender. How wildly her hair flailed as she harrumphs and turns away from him, cheeks a flustered red. “I’ll have you know that I’m a  _ taken  _ woman, Kaiser.”

“Didn’t say anything,” Kaiser says, hands still up and a placating smile on his face.

Bastille looks at her apologetically. “Sorry, Medusa. Sorry for being late too, Ladybug.”

“It’s fine, you’re not late at all, actually,” Ladybug waves him off as she looks around curiously. “... Weren’t you with Inari?”

“I’m right here, Ladybug.”

Spooked by the sudden closeness of the voice, almost instinctively his hand reaches for his sword and swings it like a bat at the source-

\- and immediately, Inari quicksteps on top of the sword and knocks it out of his hands with a kick to the wrist, the sword flying right between Chat’s ears and lodging itself into the Eiffel Tower. Before Komodo is able to react further he’s suddenly flipped upside down and pinned to the beam they’re all gathered on, an arm pinned to his back by a hand and a knee keeping him down.

“Too slow and predictable,” Inari says to the befuddled Komodo. When he cranes his head to try and look back at her, all he sees is the fox mask, looming ominously over him. “You’re inexperienced with the sword and it shows.”

Komodo doesn’t see it, but his pupils slit in response. “Excuse me?”

“Is  _ everyone  _ going to be picking fights with Komodo tonight?” Ladybug says loudly, calling everyone’s attention to her. The spotted hero taps her foot impatiently as she walks over and tugs the sword out of the Eiffel Tower, using the flat end to nudge Inari aside and away from Komodo. She reaches out her free hand to Komodo once the Fox heroine is standing a bit far aways, the Dragon hero taking it gratefully.

Chat waggles his eyebrows. “How many people have picked a fight with you tonight, Komodo?”

“No one,” Komodo says, a little too quickly for his liking. Kaiser snorts behind him, and he spins around, nearly knocking Ladybug off her feet when his tail collides with her legs. “Don’t you start, Kaiser.”

“I didn’t say anything,” Kaiser whistles nonchalantly. “Did you hear me say anything, sweet scales?”

Medusa looks around before gesturing to herself, scandalized. “Are you referring to  _ me? _ ”

“Well, Bastille certainly doesn’t have any scales and I’m obviously not saying anything to Komodo,” Kaiser hides a laugh behind the back of his hand as Medusa’s hair flares out, her ears reddening.

Bastille rolls his eyes before turning to Ladybug. “As fun as it is to see you young people bicker, you called us all for a meeting tonight, Ladybug?”

“You’re not  _ that  _ much older than us, Bastille,” Ladybug laughs before gesturing for the others to listen to her, handing Komodo his sword back.

Inari slides into the spot next to him as he tucks his sword back into its holder on his back. He’s acutely aware of her flute barely knocking against his sword with how it’s positioned on her back as she stands eerily still next to him, like a statue. When he turns his head to address her, however, Ladybug speaks up again.

“Okay guys, tonight is officially the first night we’ve  _ all  _ been together outside of the battlefield. Now that Chat and I have everyone’s civilian schedules-”

“More or less,” Chat pipes up.

“- more or less,” Ladybug amends. “We’ve finally settled on an actual proper patrol schedule that makes sure  _ everyone  _ gets to patrol with  _ everyone _ within the week. This means we’ll hopefully be able to avoid something like…”

Bastille supplies dryly, “Like the last time you sent me out to patrol for a week straight because everyone was too busy?”

Komodo scratches his cheek awkwardly. That week had been basically the American equivalent to finals week for their school and a lot of other schools in the area, so nearly everyone had been haggard and driven to peak panic over it. If his guess that most of his teammates were around his age (besides Bastille) was correct, then that meant all of them would have been too busy to properly patrol as well.

“Yeah…” Ladybug slumps and sighs before shaking her head. “That’s why we arranged a proper schedule this time though! If you look at your communicators, you should be able to see that we sent them to you.”

Komodo raises a hand.

“Yes, Komodo?”

“Hey uh, quick question.” He gestures to himself. “What do you mean, communicator?”

Ladybug balks, suddenly realizing the issue, when Inari reaches over and pulls out his sword again. Before he can protest, however, Inari presses on the triad of symbols on his sword, revealing something of a cellphone-like interface on it before handing it back to him.

“... Oh,” He says. He’s not sure what else to say. “Uh. Thanks, I guess.”

Inari turns back to Ladybug, pulling out her own flute to examine it for her own communicator as Ladybug apologizes, “Sorry. Most of your weapons should have communicators on hand if you look hard enough. You’ve already found yours, Komodo, thanks to Inari here, and it looks like Bastille just found his.”

Komodo looks at Bastille, who peers down awkwardly at the space in between the two red gems on his shield, where a small screen had popped up similar to Komodo’s. Medusa’s was simpler in that all she did was strum her lyre and the screen popped up at the bottom of the lyre, while Kaiser’s was very similar to a foldable compact mirror.

The sound of something opening makes Komodo look at Inari, who had managed to pull up a screen popping out from her own flute. Even with the mask on he could tell she was, without a doubt, baffled. “How did this fit in the flute.”

“Trust me, I ask that about milady’s Lucky Charms all the time,” Chat winks. “Anyway, if you tap on the messages, you should be able to see the patrol schedule there.”

Komodo - and the rest - peer down at their screens, and tap on the envelope.

**_SUNDAY - Bastille, Komodo, Kaiser_ **

**_MONDAY - Ladybug, Chat Noir, Bastille_ **

**_TUESDAY - Chat Noir, Kaiser, Medusa_ **

**_WEDNESDAY - Inari, Bastille, Medusa_ **

**_THURSDAY - Medusa, Ladybug, Kaiser_ **

**_FRIDAY - Ladybug, Inari, Chat Noir_ **

**_SATURDAY - Chat Noir, Komodo, Inari_ **

“... Hey, wait a second. Komodo only has two days a week,” Medusa exclaims.

Ladybug blinks and looks down at the schedule before facepalming. “Ack, sorry. Komodo, you have Fridays with us as well, if that’s okay with you. I’ll make the correction.”

“It’s cool with me,” Komodo shrugs, watching as the list replaces itself.

**_SUNDAY - Bastille, Komodo, Kaiser_ **

**_MONDAY - Ladybug, Chat Noir, Bastille_ **

**_TUESDAY - Chat Noir, Kaiser, Medusa_ **

**_WEDNESDAY - Inari, Bastille, Medusa_ **

**_THURSDAY - Medusa, Ladybug, Kaiser_ **

**_FRIDAY - Ladybug, Inari, Chat Noir, Komodo_ **

**_SATURDAY - Chat Noir, Komodo, Inari_ **

“Awesome, that means we get to hang out twice a week, Komodo,” Chat Noir gives him a thumbs up, which he smiles awkwardly at. “Isn’t that just awesome? Dragon and a cat, prowling the streets… Hawkmoth beware, black is the new ‘good’!”

Komodo looks down at himself.

Medusa clicks her tongue. “If you’re wondering if you look emo… you  _ so  _ look emo, Komodo.”

“Thanks for the reassurance?”

“No problem, mister fashion disaster.”

“ANYWAY!” Ladybug says loudly. “Does anyone else have questions? No? Then if that’s the case I’m just going to briefly call out my Lucky Charm to fix  _ that,”  _ She points at the hole Komodo’s sword had made in the Eiffel Tower, and Komodo feels his ears warm with embarrassment.

Surprisingly enough, Inari bows in submission. “I’m sorry for that, Ladybug. I reacted on instinct.”

“It’s not me you should be apologizing to, you know,” Ladybug says, and Komodo watches as Inari turns to face him.

It’s quiet for a few minutes (for the most part, anyway - Ladybug was discreetly calling up her Lucky Charm as they were talking) before Inari inclines her head slightly downward. “I… apologize, Komodo.”

“What for? I’m the one that almost cut your feet off,” Komodo tries to shrug nonchalantly, but upon seeing Inari’s hands fumble he amends, “B-but it’s okay, I accept your apology -  _ if  _ you accept mine for nearly turning you into the Legless Wonderfox.”

Chat nearly stuffs his fist into his mouth to keep from laughing out loud at the name.

Inari raises an eyebrow. “Wonderfox?”

“Don’t like it?”

“... It’s alright,” Inari says eventually. She cocks her head to the side before nodding, as if reassuring herself. “If it’s easier to say than my name, then you can call me Wonderfox, Komodo.”

Kaiser perks up. “Can I call you Wonderfox?”

“No.” The speed and the dead tone in which Inari responds to him is  _ staggeringly  _ fast.

Chat bursts into hysterical laughter as the Bee hero shrugs. “‘T’was worth a shot.”

“If I’m gonna call you Wonderfox, you can call me a nickname too,” Komodo declares. “It’s only fair, after all.”

“Aww, our kids are giving each other nicknames, bugaboo,” Chat Noir coos. Ladybug rolls her eyes, but doesn’t say anything as she quietly casts a small Miraculous Cure to clear up the hole in the Tower.

Inari’s head cocks the other way, as if thinking deeply. “... Wonderboy.”

“Hah?”

“... No,” Inari mumbles as an afterthought. “No, not tonight. I can’t think of anything. I’ll get back to you on that.”

“Okay… so… do you forgive me for nearly chopping your feet off?” Komodo asks her. He hopes it’s a yes. He understands  _ completely  _ if it’s a no though.

It’s  _ really  _ hard to tell what Inari is thinking with the kind of mask she had on, so Komodo is unsure of her response until finally she nods slightly. “Sorry. I forgot my mask didn’t show a lot of my facial expressions. Yes, I do forgive you for that one. It’s a natural instinct when one is holding a new weapon, especially a sword - you may find the distinct desire to hit anything that could be a threat.”

The  _ ‘I should know’  _ goes unsaid, but Komodo picks up on it anyway. He doesn’t ask though, because by then Ladybug is ordering them all to head back home for the night to get some rest for a proper beginning of patrol schedule the next night.

As Komodo leaps off the tower, Chat Noir falls alongside him. He grins and asks, “So. Wonderfox, huh?”

“What’s that grin for, cat?” Komodo snarks, kicking forward so that he somersaults into a tree instead of landing face first into the pavement. He hears Chat Noir’s baton smack against the pavement with a  _ CLANG  _ before the two are jumping all over Paris, heading home.

Chat, running on all fours across the rooftops, only winks. “Nothing, nothing… kinda cute how you gave two cute girls a nickname both in and out of the mask though. Well, cat out!”

Komodo’s eyes widen at the realization.

Komodo also crashes into a chimney at the realization.

He stays there for a while.


	5. page five: thunderclap affection

It’s a strangely stormy Wednesday night.

Rain in Paris was rarely this strong. Rain in Paris was, as the tourists put it, a time spent sharing an umbrella with a loved one, or in a warm cafe having freshly baked goods while watching the rain fall. It wasn’t  _ usually  _ a thunder-and-lightning two-for-one show, with wind that rattled the windowpanes and roof tiles like a furious specter. The last time they had anything of such caliber was when Aurore had been akumatized into Stormy Weather the first time around, since the second time there’d been anything like Stormy Weather, that had been more Mireille than Aurore, and Mireille’s powers were less weather-based and more natural disaster-based.

Nino  _ would  _ have deigned to transform into Komodo to help investigate the freak thunderstorm, but his mother had trusted Chris to him that night since there wasn’t really any more reason for him to  _ not  _ babysit his younger brother. Besides, he couldn’t leave him alone while there was thunder and lightning. What kind of big brother would he be if he’d left his brother all alone in the house like that, anyhow?

That had been an hour ago, though. When he and Chris had watched the news, apparently Ladybug had managed to calm down the child that had been akumatized over her fear of rain without much need for help from the other heroes besides Bastille and Chat Noir. Medusa had been escorting civilians to shelter for that one. Unfortunately, even with the Miraculous Cure, a heavy storm had been due that evening apparently, so it did little to stop the rainfall.

At least it wasn’t akuma-based this time.

The thunder roars loudly outside of his window, prompting him to shut it before the rain could sufficiently turn his room into a mini-pool. A flash of lightning lights the sky as soon as he locks the window, and he jumps.

“Are you scared?” Longg asks from his spot on Nino’s desk. The kwami had been nibbling delicately on a slice of salmon sashimi that he’d bought from the store while watching his owner work on homework yet again late in the night.

Nino gives him an offended look, hands still on the window latch. “What, of the lightning? Of course not!”

Lightning flashes behind him. The shadow of him stretches out on the floor like a monstrosity, and he yelps.

Longg chuckles softly as Nino’s cheeks flush an embarrassed red. “It is nothing to be ashamed of, Nino. Even the bravest warriors fear something - it is what makes them courageous, after all.” Nino goes to slink back over to his desk as Longg adds, “To fear nothing is to be foolhardy - nothing but a tactless hooligan. Those who know fear eventually learn true courage.”

“You make it seem like me getting over a fear of lightning is something grand and majestic,” Nino groans as he pulls up the essay he’d been doing for Science.  _ Let’s see…  _ “It’s not that big a deal.”

Nino hears the sound of Longg swallowing the slice of salmon sashimi whole to his right before the kwami speaks again. “Oh, but it is, truly. You may not have heard of this, given that you were previously Wayzz’s chosen, but one of my former holders held a great fear of death.”

“Doesn’t everyone fear death?”

“Oh, but herein lies the specifics: she was a woman in the midst of a war - a war where it was not certain if her loved ones and herself would live or die.”

Nino pauses in typing to look at him. Longg’s gaze is distant as he recounts, “Oh, how she worried for her ailing father when he’d been called off to war - so much that she took his place in the army and fought for their country instead to keep him safe. I was entrusted to her, you know - a gift from her ancestors, or so she’d been led to believe.” Longg floats over to the Dragon Miraculous around Nino’s neck and touches it carefully. “I swore that day that I would bring her back home alive no matter what. She deserved that much.”

“...” When Longg draws away to sit back down on his desk, Nino touches the Dragon Miraculous tentatively. “... Did she make it back home?”

Longg nods. “Indeed she did. And once her duty to the army had been fulfilled, she bid me a gentle farewell. A shining example of grace and strength in the midst of all the danger and strife.”

“Huh…”

The thunder roars in the background, the raindrops pattering fiercely against his window.

“This is why there is nothing wrong with being afraid,” Longg says gently, placing his stubby little hands on Nino’s hand in gentle reassurance. “I’ve heard of your first exploit as Carapace from Wayzz, you know. He told me you were afraid, but you gathered enough courage to save that Ladyblogger because you cared for her.” He smiles up at him. “That was a very brave thing to do, Nino.”

Much to his surprise, the twang in his heart is faint at the thought of Alya. “... Thanks, Longg. It’s… I’m glad you think so.”

Lightning crashes again. This time, the lights go out.

Nino hears Chris shriek in panic from the room over, and gets up to run to his room when he hears the familiar sound of his mother’s footsteps hurrying over to soothe him despite the darkness, and he sits back down. He’s still wary, but he knows that his mother, at least, would know how to calm him down.

“Longg, can you breathe fire?” Nino asks suddenly.

Longg shakes his head. “Contrary to the fact that I am the Dragon kwami, I cannot breathe fire. I can, however, search for your torch!”

“... My flashlight?” Nino asks. At Longg’s eager nod, he chuckles before tipping his cap. “Alright, dude. It’s somewhere under my bed, but I don’t really know where.”

“I do! I was here the last time Inari visited, and I recall  _ exactly  _ where it’s hidden!” Before Nino could say anything further, Longg dives into the bed and rattles around underneath. In a few moments, he drags out the flashlight, looking pretty pleased with himself as he hands it over to Nino. “What did I tell you, hatchling? My memory is  _ perfect _ .”

Nino rolls his eyes. Lightning flashes in response, and the thunder crashes loudly soon after, the wind ramming against his window hard enough for it to swing open yet again. Nino is briefly treated to a wave of droplets splashing against his face with how strong the wind is blowing outside before he realizes that something - or some _ one _ \- is outside his window again.

“No fucking way,” Nino swears loudly, eyes darting to his side. Thankfully enough, Longg is nowhere to be found as he dares to approach despite the downpour. Sure enough, the figure is that of a familiar fox. “Inari, what are you  _ doing  _ here?!”

“Patrol,” Inari says simply. “Your window blew open. I was going to close it for you before going on my way.”

Nino groans, palming his face before shaking his head. “No way. You’re not going out in  _ that  _ tonight. Get in here already so I can close the window.”

“I’m not supposed to stay for long-”

“I’m not taking no for an answer,” Nino says sternly, holding out a hand to her. It’s an agonizingly long minute of standing pretty much in the rain before Inari ducks her head, almost as if ashamed. She doesn’t take his hand, but she does slide past him and into his room as he latches the window shut behind her once more, this time running over to double lock it with a padlock he kept lying around in a drawer for emergencies.

When he turns around again Inari is dripping water all over his bedroom floor, and with a groan he says, “Okay, we can’t have this. Go in the bathroom.”

“What?”

“Bathroom. You’re gonna ruin my electronics this way if you keep standing here!”

* * *

Nino, on occasion, did not account for many things.

One occasion is this: the power was out. It had yet to come back. Which meant his bathroom was dark and Inari was basically walking into his bathroom blind and soaking wet.

_ CLUNK. _

“... Inari, did you slip?”

“No.”

She answers a little too quickly for his taste. And a little too noisily - the metal parts of her armor clang against literally  _ everything  _ in his bathroom. Eventually he fumbles for the switch on his flashlight and aims it in her general direction, which ended up with him beaming the light directly at her face. With the mask on, it was definitely a scary deer-in-headlights stare that meets his gaze.

“...”

“...”

“... You slipped.”

“I did no such thing.”

Nino feels a smile creep up his face as he turns to his right and pulls a towel off the rack, holding it out to her. “Here. I’ll go stand outside, you can detransform and dry off. Does your kwami want anything?”

“...” Inari stares at him in the darkness before she takes the towel. “... Trixx likes liver. His favorite is cow liver, but liver spread works for him.”

Nino blanches. “Wow. That’s kinda weird, no offense.”

“None taken. I’m not a fan of it myself, but now I have to buy a tin of it for him all the time.”

“I’ll check the fridge. There’s probably something in there he can eat,” Nino mumbles, stepping out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. He hears a muffled detransformation phrase, and within a few minutes a tiny fox kwami phases through the door.

Trixx beams at him. “Hey there, turtle boy. Thanks for housing me and my kit for a bit tonight. Stubborn girl decided to finish her patrol route even when Ladybug said they could all go home early after the akuma.”

Nino laughs as he gestures for Trixx to sit on his desk. “I didn’t know Inari could be stubborn.”

“Oh, she’s  _ very  _ stubborn in her own right, alright,” Trixx nods sagely. “She used to be very impulsive.”

For a few moments, Nino disappears into the darkness of his house to wander his way into the kitchen, looking for the fridge, when the lights come back on just in time. He sighs in relief before beelining for the kitchen, rummaging around until he procures a can of liver spread.  _ Thank God for Mom. _

“Hope this works for you, little dude,” Nino says upon reentering his room, sliding the can forward for Trixx to hungrily snack on. “So, what was that about Inari being impulsive?”

Trixx takes a wad of the spread before sticking it in his mouth. “Oh, my new kit’s impulsive. I’ve had a  _ lot  _ of impulsive kits over the years, trust me. Most of the time I get the quiet types, the introverted types, the ‘hiding behind a curtain of their own hair’ types - but sometimes I get the really  _ fiery  _ ones, y’know?” Trixx swallows before making a fake scary face. “She used to be more impulsive, but I really think working with a team is doing wonders for her.”

“Really now?”

“Mm-hmm. Thanks for the liver, by the way. Good stuff,” Trixx says in satisfaction. “I think I’ll be going back to her now, if that’s alright with you. I need to get her home soon while the rain’s not that strong before her family notices she’s gone for too long.”

Nino glances at the window. The rain seemed to have lessened immensely, sure enough, so he gives him a two-fingered salute. “Nice seeing you again, Trixx.”

“Nice talking to you again, snapper,” Trixx does a somersault in midair before phasing through the bathroom door again. Nino waits for a few minutes before orange light peeks out of the cracks of his bathroom door, and when it opens again, Inari is peering out of it carefully, looking around.

When Nino gives her a thumbs up to tell her that the coast is clear, she opens the door fully, now fully dried and freshly transformed. The wet towel hangs from the rack to dry as she carefully wipes her boots on the shower rug before stepping out.

“Next time, maybe don’t try and do patrols in a storm?” Nino suggests as Inari makes her way to the window.

Inari sighs. “Trixx told you?”

“He told me lots of things,” Nino shrugs.

The fox glances at him briefly, standing right in front of his window. “I had to do my part of the patrol. I know for a fact Bastille and Medusa couldn’t because they were tired after the fight, so I had to do the rounds tonight alone.”

“It’s a storm, ‘Nari,” Nino says. “What kind of dumbass sends an akuma out into the stor- Hawkmoth,” He finishes reluctantly at Inari’s slowly cocking head. “Yeah, yeah, I know, you don’t need to tell me anything. But still. That was dumb. Please don’t do that again.”

Inari doesn’t answer at first as she straightens out. “I cannot promise that for certain.”

“Then at least promise you’ll stop by here to dry off if and only if it happens again?” Nino offers.

“... I don’t want to impose.”

“Please. You’ve saved my life a few times now,”  _ Both in and out of the mask.  _ “What’s a few raindrops between friends?”

Inari stills considerably, and Nino realizes what he just said. Immediately his ears turn an embarrassing red. “Uh.”

“Do you mean that?” Inari asks. “That we’re… friends?”

“Yeah?” Nino answers. “I mean- yeah. Yeah! Of course I mean that. I mean- you show up here a  _ lot  _ for a hero. You listened to my jams. You detransform in my  _ bathroom  _ sometimes to charge up. Hell, you even tried helping with my homework once!” That was… an  _ experience _ . “I think we’re definitely friends.”

“... Thank you, Nino,” Inari says eventually, and it doesn’t take much of a genius to notice the smile in the way her voice grows soft as she speaks. Inari’s voice was usually very precise, albeit quiet - but firm and direct to the point. This was a bit of a contrast. “Really, and truly. I am… honored to be called your friend.”

Was his entire face burning? Yes. Oh my God his entire face was on fire.

“I- uh- it’s not that big of a deal-”

“It is to me,” Inari murmurs. “I don’t exactly have many friends.”

Nino frowns. Something in the back of his mind told him that he’d heard this somewhere before, but he couldn’t really place it. “What about the other heroes? Your civilian life?”

“... They are…” Inari pauses. “... They’re my friends, yes. In civilian life I have a close circle of friends, but that’s it.”

“Well, y’know… better a small close-knit circle than a bunch of friendly acquaintances sometimes, right?” Nino reassures. “But yeah… if you’ll have me, I’m glad to be your friend!”

Inari tilts her head down briefly, considering his words, before looking back up at him again, as if she’d made up her mind. Before Nino can even blink, she steps forward, and he hears the sound of her gently lifting up her mask to the side, hair rustling as she does so, and soft lips pressing against his cheek.

_ Wh- _

Thunder rumbles in the distance as she speaks. “Thank you.”

The mask slides back into place. The window is unlocked, and in a moment’s flash, Inari is gone again, leaving a dumbstruck boy in her wake.

Nino drops to the floor on his rear end. Hard.

“Well… that was unexpected of her.”

“Longg? Shut up.”

“Shutting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> take a shot every time nino/komodo calls kagami/inari by some sort of nickname in any form


	6. page six: baked goods for home

If you asked Nino how he ended up with a bowl of half-kneaded cookie dough on his head, his glasses nowhere to be found, and his hands coated in flour, he wouldn’t be able to answer you directly.

He’d gone over to pay a visit to Marinette one weekend, what with his mother watching Chris while he begged Nino for some ‘cookies from Marinette’, even though he knew  _ perfectly well  _ they had some  _ perfectly good cookies  _ in the cookie jar stashed way out of his reach. Chris was  _ short  _ and basically a baby.

_ But fresh baked ones are the best!  _ Chris had whined to him.  _ Buy some from Marinette’s place! I want them, I want them, I want them! _

“Let me guess,” Marinette teases, placing both her hands on her hips. “You’ve never been near an oven before.”

In his defense, he’s  _ been  _ near an oven before - but only for about three seconds each time, because most of his time near one was being spent steering Chris  _ away  _ from it. As responsible brothers ought to do, after all. But he couldn’t tell Marinette that - not when someone had just entered the bakery based on the jingling bell, and thus they probably could see him having made a mess.

Sabine Cheng smiles serenely as she practically flits over to the register. “Good morning to the two of you. Are you here to visit Marinette or can I get you anything from the selection today?”

“Here to see Marinette, ma’am - though I’m not adverse to a croissant or five,” That was Adrien. Nino knew his bro’s voice  _ anywhere _ \- but as far as he was aware, Adrien had a weekend fencing practice. Why was he here? And to top it all off, Marinette’s mother had mentioned  _ two _ . Who was the other one? The Gorilla? Nathalie?

Sabine chuckles. “You know small treats are free for friends, Adrien. Especially Marinette’s closest friends.”

“Too generous, ma’am Cheng, too generous - I have to pay you back  _ somehow _ .”

The person Adrien was with wasn’t talking, so it was probably either of Adrien’s stalwart guardians. Obviously not his father. With a shrug, Nino slowly reaches up to try and pry the cookie dough bowl off of his hair and head.

“Well… Marinette’s here trying to bake a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies for a very hungry customer. You could pay for it by helping her, if you’d like, because I’m not accepting your money, Adrien.”

“You drive a hard bargain, ma’am. I accept wholeheartedly.” Was Nathalie really letting him do this? Really? “I’ve never baked before, but I can sure try!”

“Don’t I get a say in this?”

The second voice makes Nino  _ freeze _ . Oh.  _ No. No fucking way. _

“Nope,” Adrien pops the ‘p’ in ‘nope’ before calling out, “Hey Marinette!”

“GAH!” Marinette slips and slides and lands on her rear in surprise. Still as clumsy as ever, but that wasn’t the big issue here. As Nino goes to help Marinette back up with his flour-dusted hands, his blood is roaring in his ears and coloring his cheeks like a kid who’d gotten their hands on permanent red marker and was now drawing all over the walls. “Thanks Nino.”

The ‘thanks’ is almost too fuzzy for him to hear. He’s still processing the situation.

He was in the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Behind the register. Near the oven. Because he was helping Marinette bake chocolate chip cookies for his little brother, who had chosen that exact day to pull on his leg and demand cookies freshly baked from Marinette’s. He could’ve  _ not  _ listened, but he also wanted to visit Marinette and Chris had known it. And now he had a bowl of batter on his head, flour all over him, and Kagami and Adrien were standing on the other side of the counter.

And his back was still turned.

What a fucking disaster.

“You don’t look like you’re _doughing_ so good, you two,” Adrien jokes, looking all over their working area thoughtfully. “Well. Mostly you, Nino, sorry. But you know what I mean.”

Nino feels the bowl on his head shift, and he watches as Kagami carefully tries to pull it off of his head. “How did this even get on your head?”

“Don’t ask,” Nino groans. “Seriously.”

Marinette dusts some flour off of her pants as Adrien leans in to peck at her forehead. “Ohhh no you don’t, Adrien. I am  _ dusty  _ and this is the working area. If you’re going to be in the workspace, you’re going to work with us or you’re going to sit upstairs on the couch.”

“Roger that, ma’am,” Adrien salutes cheekily, already marching towards the stairs to wash up before preparing to help. Kagami, meanwhile, sets the bowl down back on the table as she pokes once at the dough slowly falling down the sides of Nino’s head. Nino desperately wished that he was Komodo at that very moment to use Water Dragon and just… float away. Or maybe he’d use Wind Dragon and disappear forever into the breeze. That absolutely worked too.

Kagami sighs. “Marinette, do you know how to get dough out of hair? This is out of my league.”

“Well... “ Marinette hums, brow furrowed. “The last time this happened to me, I had to cut my hair - but there isn’t really much to cut on Nino’s end,” She says sheepishly when Nino gives her a Look. “Mom?”

Sabine glances over. “Take him upstairs, Kagami dear. The best thing to do in this case is get him to soak his head in cold water for at least an hour. I’ll call his mother and tell her of the current development so she doesn’t worry.”

“You guys know the way to the bathroom, right?” Marinette asks. “I’ll send Adrien over, and then Kagami, can you take Nino’s place here in the meantime?”

Kagami blinks. “... Me?”

Marinette leans into Kagami’s ear and whispers something that Nino can’t hear. Said something makes Kagami’s eyes widen slightly and the corners of her mouth turn upward  _ very  _ slightly… not that Nino was looking. Nope. Nuh uh. That didn’t happen.

“... Okay,” Kagami relents. “I… just take him upstairs to the bathroom and wait for Adrien?”

“If you please.”

“I do,” Kagami closes her eyes briefly in thought before nodding to herself. She holds out a hand to Nino, and when he doesn’t respond immediately she takes his hand carefully. Flour coats her palm, but it doesn’t seem to bother her as she pulls him along. “Come on, Nino.”

Nino blinks. He was definitely walking, and walking, and Kagami was leading… where to? “... Ah?”

“We’re going to the bathroom,” Kagami repeats. The two of them walk up the stairs carefully, Kagami still leading him. “We need to get the dough out of your hair and that requires you soaking your head in cold water. Adrien will assist you if need be.”

Nino lets this process for a bit. “... Okay, Mimi.” Pause. “Wait, then where are you going?”

“I’m going to help Marinette bake,” Kagami says decisively.

Nino stares at her as they stop at the bathroom. “... Have you ever baked before?”

“No, but it surely can’t be too difficult,” Kagami admits. “I’ve experienced pounding  _ mochi  _ before once when I was much younger.”

“That’s something totally different.”

“Well. I’m trying my best anyway. Here. The bathroom.”

Nino enters the bathroom, and then turns to her. It’s a funny sort of callback, he thinks, to when Inari had showed up at his house and ended up in his bathroom. Except this was Marinette’s house and he was in the bathroom now. He was Inari in this scenario and Kagami was Nino. Wait. that sounded weird. Stop thinking. “So uh… you’re just gonna… leave me here?”

“I can stay until Adrien comes b-” Kagami pauses. “... Shouldn’t he be in this bathroom?”

“He probably used another bathroom?” Nino offers. “This can’t possibly be the only bathroom, can it?”

“Hm…”

Adrien chooses that exact moment to walk in on them, startling Kagami, whose back had been turned. “Hey guys!”

In her surprise, Kagami whips around and roundhouse kicks him in the shin. Adrien goes down like a sack of bricks.

Nino stares down at him and winces. “... There goes my assistance with the water.”

* * *

For the next hour, Adrien sits on the toilet seat, nursing his shin and watching over Nino. At least, that’s what Nino thinks he’s doing, since his head is tilted up to the ceiling and all he can do is stare and count the tiles. His neck rests on the edge of the bathtub, his head just being consistently battered with cold water from the shower.

“You doing okay, Nino?” Adrien asks after a while.

Nino sighs. “My neck hurts like hell. How’s your shin?”

“Hurts like hell. Kagami kicks like she stabs.”

“How?”

“ _ Hard, _ ” Adrien wheezes. When Nino makes a noise of agreement, he complains, “She hasn’t even kicked you!”

“Dude, she threw me into a bush the first time we met, remember?”

“Oh yeah…”

The two fall into silence briefly. Nino lets the sound of the shower take over for a moment as he counts the tiles on the ceiling. Which tile did he stop on again? He was beginning to go cross-eyed. He starts again from the tile closest to the upper right screw of the fluorescent light and recounts.

“Hey, Nino?”

“Yeah dude?”

“Do you like Kagami?”

Nino absolutely does  _ not  _ fucking hit his head on the bathtub and howl in agony, holding the back of his head in pain. Adrien’s panicked platitudes fill his ears as he whines, “ _ Dude,  _ what the  _ fuck? _ ”

“I’m sorry, that was terrible timing,” Adrien winces, helping him back into his spot. “Do you, though?”

Nino resettles back into his spot, the back of his head still aching like hell. “Of course I like Mimi, dude. She’s my friend. Did you think I didn’t like her?”

“No, not at all!” Adrien exclaims. Nino can practically  _ hear  _ him flailing a little like Marinette and it makes him laugh. “Hey, don’t laugh at me!”

“Then why’d you ask?”

“Just curious.”

Comfortable silence again. Well, for the most part. Amidst the sounds of the shower, Nino can hear the sounds of Marinette and Kagami talking downstairs - well, he can hear Marinette’s voice, sort of. Marinette could be loud when she wanted to and not even the shower could really cover it up. Kagami’s voice… not as loud. But that was okay.

“They sound like they’re having fun,” Adrien muses.

Nino hums in agreement. “Yeah…”

“Y’know… Kagami and I were in an arranged marriage once,” Adrien says casually. Nino chokes on his own spit at the admission, but is unable to respond otherwise as Adrien continues. “But then her mom tore up the papers. We’re basically free men right now because of her.”

_ Tore up the papers?  _ “... Why?”

“Dunno. Kagami doesn’t know why either, but my father  _ definitely  _ told me to stay away from Kagami from then on.”

“But you two came here together?”

“You think I listen to my father all the time? Nino, he told me to stay away from you too, and here I am,” Nino feels Adrien’s fist touch against his knuckles in a semi-fistbump, and he smiles. “Besides. He doesn’t know about Marinette either. He doesn’t have to know everything I do, anyway. You’re lucky, you know.”

“Huh?”

“You can tell your mom anything…” Adrien sighs wistfully. “And she listens to you, and Chris. Makes me wish my father was like your mom… or that Mom was still here.”

“Bro…”

Nino hears Adrien shift. “It’s okay though… Marinette’s parents… they’re basically mine now by this point. At least… I know I can turn to them when my father is unavailable. Which is all the time, but details, details.” Adrien sighs. “But that’s neither here nor there. I’m gonna go check on your hair.”

* * *

By the time the two of them leave the bathroom, Nino’s hair is considerably devoid of cookie dough… for the most part. There was a glob that Marinette had offered to just cut out of his hair but his mother - who had come over to pick him up - had said that they’d go to a professional instead to get him a proper haircut.

Before he leaves, he feels a tap on his shoulder, and he turns around, only to be startled as Kagami holds out a paper bag to him a bit stiffly. “Uh…?”

“You forgot something,” Kagami says. “You came here for cookies, right?”

Nino’s eyes widen. Oh yeah. Chris was in the car, which meant he was probably expecting the cookies he’d come to get. Shit. He opens the paper bag and is immediately smacked in the face by the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies. “Oh my God. These smell great, oh my  _ God. _ ”

“Kagami made that one batch all by herself!” Marinette grins over Kagami’s shoulder. Kagami lightly kicks backwards at her, but Marinette hops away just in time.

Nino closes the paper bag and smiles earnestly at Kagami. “Thanks, Mimi. Really. I bet they taste great.”

“...” Kagami only nods. Maybe he was hallucinating the tint of red in her cheeks. “... See you soon.”

* * *

“Nino?” His mom asks later on, halfway to their house. “What’s that in your hands?”

“Oh, uh… the cookies I got for Chris?”

“But Chris is already eating cookies…”

Chris peeks at his older brother from where he was seated shotgun, and when Nino looks he is, indeed, already holding a cutesy plastic bag from the bakery containing more cookies.  _ Wait, if those are the cookies, then…? _

**_Kagami made that one batch all by herself!_ **

“A girl gave him cookies?” Chris asks his mother. He scrunches up his nose. “Ew. Those cookies have  _ cooties.  _ Cookie cooties.”

“Chris!”

Nino chokes with laughter, reaching in to take one of the cookies. It was definitely not a Dupain-Cheng bakery original - it felt different and looked different, essentially. But it looked good. He takes a bite, and immediately his eyes widen.

“Is it good?” His mother asks him from the rearview mirror.

They were  _ good _ .

But Nino forgets to tell her that.


	7. page seven: baby doll eyes

Sundays were quite possibly Nino’s favorite day of the week overall.

On Sundays, his mother took him and Chris out for family fun - even if either him or Chris weren’t in the mood for them at first, by the time they reached wherever his mother had planned for the three of them, the one so vehemently against it was now the most avid supporter of the activity. It was something her father - Nino’s grandfather - had used to do for her when she was child, and she’d decided that it was something the two deserved to experience as well.

On Sundays, after a fun activity and lunch together as a family, Nino’s afternoons were free. These afternoons, before a certain point in his life, had usually been spent cooped up in his room either working on homework or remixing or streaming another video game for his subscribers. In  _ maternelle  _ he’d spent a lot of his afternoons over at the Dupain-Chengs or the Le Chien household if he wasn’t playing video games by himself or playing with a ball all alone.

Now that he was in  _ collège,  _ this hadn’t changed, save for a few key points. Now he had Adrien to goof around with as a best friend; Marinette and Kim were childhood friends, but Adrien was a  _ best bro _ . That was another special spot entirely. He had the entirety of Paris to roam with friends - a  _ lot  _ of them. And to top it all off, he’d met and befriended people he didn’t think he’d ever spend a long time with.

Aurore. Mireille. Marc. The people from the other classes he’d only learned about in passing until they’d proven themselves worthy allies and friends. Aurore with her pretty parasol that she used like another limb. Mireille with her cheeky smile that always reached up to her eyes whenever she knew something you didn’t. Marc with his black-painted fingernails always constantly tapping on the edge of  _ something _ whenever he was thinking very deeply about something he was currently working on.

Luka. Juleka’s big brother Luka, the Luka who’d looked like he was interested in Marinette but backed down at the sight of Adrien finally moving in Luka. Luka who’d listened to his tunes and offered sage advice on how to improve them that might as well have come from the mouths of angels themselves Luka.

_ Chloe _ . Huge bitch in elementary school Chloe. Chloe who’d become Queen Bee and gotten her Miraculous taken away and learned her fucking lesson Chloe.

And then there was Kagami. Kagami with her sharp tongue and her sharp blade, Kagami who’d snapped a mop in half and used it as a weapon while he’d used a trash can lid as a shield Kagami. Kagami who’d not pulled any punches whenever talking to him, who never hesitated, who’d remained true to herself and became his friend.

Friends… an unlikely bunch of friends, but friend nonetheless. Friends he would’ve liked to spend his Sunday afternoons with for the years to come.

“Nino? Can you bring this over to the Dupain-Chengs? I borrowed it last week and haven’t found the time to return it yet.”

Nino rises from his bed with a sigh, stretching. The one detractor was that Sundays were also errand days. And as the oldest son, he ran a  _ lot  _ of them. “Is it breakable?”

“It’s one of Sabine’s pieces of fine china, so you take care of it, you hear me?” His mother puts down the already carefully wrapped object on his desk where it’s most clear, and when Nino looks over at it he sees it already layered  _ heavily  _ with bubble wrap and plastic.

Nino raises an eyebrow. “Is all of this really necessary?”

“My sweet baby, of course it is,” Mrs. Lahiffe coos, placing both her hands on Nino’s cheeks to squish them together. “While I trust you to make it there safely, I don’t trust Paris. With those akuma attacks happening at any time, I just want to make sure this makes it to Sabine intact - and if Marinette happens to handle it, that she manages to bring it to her mother in one piece.” Nino chokes with laughter at the last part. “Don’t tell the dear I said that, though. Lord knows how often she used to drop plates when you two were toddlers.”

Nino pulls her hands off his cheeks before laughing. “Okay, okay. I’ll get going then. Where’s Chris?”

“He’s over at Marlena’s playing with the twins.” At the mention of Alya’s mother, Nino stills, and his mother frowns. “It still hurts?”

Nino shakes his head. “Not as much as it used to, mom. I promise.” He moves to the side to get off of the bed and slip into some shoes, picking up the package. “Do you need me to pick him up on the way home?”

“You don’t have to, sweetie - I can do that. I know you don’t exactly want to see Alya if you can help it, even if she  _ has  _ apologized,” His mother rests her hands on his shoulders and tiptoes, pressing a kiss to his forehead as she does so. “You just go on and get that package to Sabine, alright?”

Nino smiles softly, tucking the package under his arm. “Thanks, mom.”

* * *

Right when he’d entered the bakery and placed the package down on the counter for Sabine to take, disaster strikes in the form of an akuma.

At the sound of screams, Nino runs out of the bakery, a hand on his cap as he looks for a place to transform. The magic that turns him into Komodo barely manages to wash over his hair before a laser blasts past his ear, and he jumps out from behind his hiding place - a tree - to clamber up the rooftops.

Ladybug joins him soon after, crouching next to him. “Komodo. Were you in the neighborhood by any chance?”

“Yeah. Dropped off something at the Dupain-Cheng bakery,” Komodo mutters, peeking around the chimney they were hiding behind. “What’s the situation?”

Ladybug pulls out her yoyo, turning on the communicator function. “According to Chat? Antique-shop owner, he thinks. Calls herself Porcelady-”

“The fuck is Hawkmoth on nowadays?”

“Beats me. Anyway, apparently she’s a life-sized porcelain doll that looks like she was dressed for the Victorian era.” She turns the yoyo around to show Komodo an image, and Komodo nearly shudders his way off the roof. Porcelady’s eyes were  _ eerie _ . “She’s got doll eyes floating all over the place shooting people and turning civilians into life-sized porcelain dolls.”

“FOUND YOU!”

Ladybug and Komodo yelp, separating as an eyeball that had crept up on them shoots at where they’d both been hiding. “Komodo, get moving and knock out some eyeballs! We need to track down the source of the eyeballs - Porcelady - and find her akuma!”

“Got it, Ladybug!” Komodo parkours off the side of a building before finding himself running across the thin railings of Parisian apartment complexes, slicing and dicing at any eyeballs he ran across and were able to reach - and avoid. Everywhere Komodo looked down below, he was seeing people collapse in heaps of doll limbs while still dressed in their modern clothing, unable to move and unable to scream.

Terrifying.

“Komodo!”

A familiar staff boomerangs around him and knocks out a slew of eyeballs, and when he glances to his right he sees Chat Noir dashing on top of railings on all fours as well from across the street. “Look what the cat dragged in.”

“I’ll have you know I sashayed in, thank you very much - but that’s not important right now! Porcelady’s right this way!” Chat detours to his right and climbs up a roof, prompting Komodo to climb up on the roof on his side before backing up and leaping across the divide, only barely clearing the edge. Once his feet stabilize, he follows after the waiting Chat Noir.

As they run, Chat asks, “Where’s Ladybug?”

“She went the other way looking for you!” Komodo exclaims.

“Oh, fucking-  _ yikes! _ ” Chat Noir ducks behind a chimney as a laser sears above his head before boomeranging the split ends of his staff in the direction of the source trying to catch it off guard. “Komodo, is she there?”

Komodo peeks.

Nothing.

“Komodo?”

Komodo immediately whips out his sword and points it behind him. Kaiser holds up his hands in surrender. “It’s just me! Jesus Christ, dragon boy, you’d think I was a  _ murderer _ .”

“You  _ saw  _ what was going on down there,” Komodo accuses. “You can’t just sneak up on me like that!”

Kaiser only gives him a deadpan look before descending onto the roof, his wings stilling back into his cape. “Not my fault you weren’t paying attention. Yes, I saw the dolls on the ground. Where’s the akuma?”

“Porcelady’s up ahead, but this is getting nowhere,  _ fast _ ,” Ladybug growls, ducking behind the chimney next to Chat Noir and surprising Komodo and Kaiser. Where the  _ fuck  _ had she come from? “I need to cast my Lucky Charm, but if I do there’s a chance she’ll send one of her eyes out at me while I’m vulnerable.”

Kaiser winks at her before launching himself back into the air, and when Komodo looks, the eyeballs seem to center on him, trying to launch lasers at him. The bee hero is fortunately more adept with flight than most of them, because he’s doing somersaults in midair while avoiding each beam.

“Showoff,” Komodo yells at him.

Kaiser only tosses his hair and throws a wink at him before kicking an eyeball into another. The eyeballs shatter on impact.

“Well, Kaiser’s distracting Porcelady’s eyeballs. How many eyeballs are aiming at him?”

“Two.”

“Two?”

“Did I say two? I meant at least twenty.”

“Congratulations, Chat. You can do math!”

Chat sticks his tongue out at him. “I can do chemistry better, thanks.”

“Good grief, he’s going to get hit at this rate…” Ladybug pulls out her yoyo before trying as discreetly as she can to summon a Lucky Charm sideways. While her voice is quiet, the light is still blinding - and the object still falls a few feet away on the roof from her when it does. “Ah, geez. Komodo?”

Komodo gives her a two fingered salute before carefully making his way over to the Lucky Charm - a small bouncy ball, it looked like - , when suddenly Chat Noir yells, “LOOK OUT KOMODO!”

The Dragon hero drop rolls out of the way as an eyeball laser singes where he’d been previously. He’s given little time to react as he kicks the rain drainage pipe up and launches the bouncy ball into the sky before reaching for his sword and smacking the eyeball away with the blunt edge like a baseball.

“You know, maybe you should consider changing your weapon into a bat?” Chat suggests before ducking as another laser goes to get him. “Yipe!”

“Forget that - Komodo, lure those eyes away while I get the Lucky Charm!” Ladybug shouts, throwing her yoyo out to chase after the runaway ball the other way.

Komodo sighs, still gripping his sword like a baseball bat. Longg was right - he  _ really  _ needed someone to teach him how to use a sword at some point, but he wasn’t sure where he could turn to that wouldn’t suspect him of being Komodo. Running out in the open, a good chunk of eyeballs aiming for Kaiser go after him instead as he zigzags his way down one of the many streets of Paris, heart racing and blood roaring in his ears as he leaps over fallen bodies and fallen bikes and -

“Mother! Please, we have to run!”

Wait.

“Kagami, Tatsu will be here at any moment. Inside Tatsu, we can at least make it home safely and away from the akuma’s… lasers, you say? Based on what you have described, they cannot penetrate windows. We will be safe when the time comes, but until then, we  _ fight _ .”

Wait,  _ wait-  _

Komodo nearly skids to a stop at the two familiar voices, and ends up crashing into a tree. The eyeballs that had been following him end up crashing into a bunch of laundry hanging along with him - but he’s first to recover, shaking his head wildly before grabbing at two eyeballs and aiming their pupils at each other. He smashes both of them against the other, the eyes falling to pieces in his hands as he throws away the shards like he’s tossing shuriken. The other eyes fall to pieces.

Komodo turns the corner.

Back to back, shoulder to shoulder, the Tsurugi women are in the middle of the street - Tomoe with her  _ shinai _ , Kagami with what appeared to be a large umbrella. A  _ familiar  _ large umbrella. Surrounding them are at least  _ seven  _ eyeballs as well, firing lasers in intervals and never at the same time as another eyeball. Each blow however is redirected by a parry by one of the two’s weapons, whether it be  _ shinai  _ or umbrella.

_ Wow. She’s really good in a crisis. _

Komodo blinks, and then violently shakes his head again.  _ Focus, Komodo! You have to save them! _

With a roar of “LIGHTNING DRAGON!”, Komodo turns into electricity and dances in the air towards the eyeballs, shocking the eyeballs in such a way that they all fall to the ground, shattering as he reforms into Komodo once more. Standing in front of Tomoe and Kagami, he sheaths his sword once more.

“Nice work with the eyeballs,” Komodo compliments. “But you two can’t stay here.”

Komodo watches as Kagami side-eyes her mother. “Mother believes we need to wait for Tatsu. I believe we need to run.”

“I can carry at least  _ one  _ of you to safety right now,” Komodo offers, but before Kagami can reply her eyes widen as she reaches forward and shoves Komodo out of the way-

Tomoe wildly whips around as if already sensing what she was doing. “KAGAMI!”

Komodo’s eyes widen as Kagami’s doll body crumples by his feet, unmoving.

_ Kagami…? _

He leans down to feel her pulse as Tomoe surges forward and splits at least five eyeballs with one strike. Kagami’s hand, like the rest of her body, is cool porcelain, unmoving. Her face is frozen in a look of cool disinterest, cheeks and lips blushed red the way porcelain dolls were ought to. The chain of her necklace peeks out from under her tie.

Her eyes looked alive still, cool shine and all.

_ CRACK. _

Komodo cracks his neck suddenly, and carefully he picks up the fallen Kagami bridal style just as the familiar red of the Tsurugi family car, Tatsu, rolls into view. Hearing the sound of it, Tomoe carefully makes her way inside as if she already knows Komodo is right behind her, taking a seat in the backseat as Komodo places Kagami carefully on the seat.

Her head lolls to the side, her limbs splayed out awkwardly. “... Yikes.” With a wince, Komodo shifts her legs and arms around before she looks as if she’s sitting primly and properly on the seat, and nods to himself. “Yeah. There we go.” He then goes to secure a seatbelt around her before saying, “Your daughter’s locked in, ma’am.”

“Thank you,” Tomoe nods in acknowledgement. “You really are an upstanding young man - Kagami is lucky to have you as her friend.”

Komodo chokes on his own spit.  _ What the fuck?! _ “Wh- b- ma’am, I- we- your daughter and I have never interacted before! That’s not safe for civilians!”

“... You are one of the new heroes she speaks about?” Tomoe frowns.

“Yes, ma’am. Komodo the dragon hero, at your service.”

“I was not aware that Ryuuko had been replaced,” Tomoe’s brow furrows. The mention of ‘Ryuuko’ makes Komodo pause, but before he can ask, the woman shakes her head. “... My apologies. I had believed you to be someone else based on voice.”

_ Shit, that’s right… she’s blind! And the blind… they don’t recognize based on appearances and disguises, they…  _ Komodo swallows.  _ They base it on voices!  _ **_SHIT!_ ** _ Does she know…? _

“Aw, that’s alright. I get that a lot,” Komodo laughs awkwardly before saying, “Anyway, I need to go back to battle. Please… take care of your daughter for me?”

Tomoe’s grip on her  _ shinai  _ tightens. “I  _ always _ do.”

Komodo dips his head respectfully at her words and shuts the door, and Tatsu speeds off, uncaring of speed limits. He’s pretty sure Tatsu just rammed into at least fifteen eyeballs on the way home, but those were details he didn’t need to think about right now.

Right now, Porcelady needed to pay.

* * *

“Weird how Bastille, Inari, and Medusa didn’t show up this battle,” Kaiser frowns afterwards as Chat Noir escorts the antique store owner back to the shop, now purified. “They must’ve seen the eyeballs, right?”

Ladybug gulps before explaining, “I couldn’t get hold of Inari, and I saw Bastille’s civilian form get turned into a doll protecting a family member. Medusa I went to check on at where I know she lives, and she was unable to transform because her family was keeping her safely locked up in her room.”

“Oh.” Kaiser kicks at a rock. “Well. That’s better than her being a doll. Poor Bastille.”

Komodo hears a beeping sound coming from both Ladybug and Kaiser, and points out, “Y’know, you two are about to transform back. You should probably get going.”

“What, sick of us already?” Kaiser asks with a grin.

Komodo rolls his eyes. “Buzz off, Kaiser.”

“Will do,” The bee hero laughs before flying off somewhere. Ladybug nods at Komodo before throwing her yoyo at a chimney and pulling herself away, leaving Komodo to go find another hiding spot to detransform in-

Wait. He wasn’t about to turn back at any minute.

… Maybe he could do a little detour.

* * *

Komodo eventually finds himself at the Tsurugi household - or rather, perched on top of the gate. He didn’t want to enter the place - he just wanted the reassurance that Kagami was alright after all that-

\- and he soon got it in the form of Kagami opening the windows and her eyes landing on him. The unnatural red blush in her lips and cheeks was gone, and she was moving and  _ not  _ ball jointed anymore. She was alright.

Komodo lets himself sigh with relief, and turns around to leave.

“Komodo?”

Komodo nearly slips off the gate and lands into their flower bushes at the call. “Huh?”

“Over here,” Kagami calls, and Komodo looks around before pointing at himself. She raises an eyebrow. “I just need to tell you something.”

_ What could she  _ **_possibly_ ** _ have to say to me?  _ Komodo wonders as he skirts the edges of the walls that protected their home before leaping onto the tree inside their grounds, eventually sliding off the branch closest to her window and sitting on her railing. “Uh… hi. You wanted to tell me something?”

“Yes.” And here Kagami bows low to him. “Thank you for saving me and my mother earlier. We are indebted to you.”

Komodo blinks rapidly. “Uh. I mean. I’m one of the heroes of Paris, it’s my job? But you thank, I guess. I MEAN THANK YOU! Gah.” His ears burn with embarrassment. Nice fucking  _ work,  _ Lahiffe. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“You didn’t have to help my mother bring my body inside the car, but you did,” Kagami points out. “I saw you even tried to fix me in a sitting position.”

Komodo’s face  _ immediately  _ colors red. “Y-y-you saw me?!”

“I was turned into a doll, but I could still see everything,” Kagami admits. “I just couldn’t move an inch. I’m… thankful you took the time to do that. You didn’t have to, but… you did.” She smiles softly. “You’re not so bad after all… clumsy dragon boy.”

Komodo’s ears burn even harder. “Oh. Right. You uh. Saw me that night. That was, uh, a flute. I MEAN A FLUKE. It was a fluke, I promise.”  _ Please believe I’m cooler than what you saw that night. _

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell,” Kagami lifts a finger to her lips, the corners of her mouth turned up in the slightest of smiles, and for some reason the sight of it sends Komodo’s heart pounding. He’s not sure why. “It’ll be our secret then, okay?”

“O-Okay.” Komodo’s foot moves backward - big mistake, considering he’d just stepped on air. He slips off the railing with a yelp, landing right into the bushes below Kagami’s window.

“Kagami?” He hears Tomoe’s voice call out. “What is that noise?”

Komodo stares wide-eyed up at Kagami still staring down at him from the window. She makes a shushing motion before gesturing for him to run with a worried look on her face. Eyes widening even more and his eyes slitting, Komodo frantically rights himself before going to scale the walls of the barrier and leaping back on top of it. When he glances back, Kagami is still watching him, as though waiting for him to leave, leaning on the edge of her railing casually.

_ Aren’t you going?  _ is what he reads from her posture and her gaze. She’s not… chasing him away, he can tell. But she’s curious as to why he’s still there.

**_I don’t really want to,_ ** is what he wants to say. But he doesn’t say anything. He only gives her a two fingered salute before launching himself at the nearest building, heading back home once again.

He has a feeling this is going to be something of a regular occurrence.


	8. page eight: moonlight stroll

She was watching him again.

Komodo had noticed the elusive fox heroine every now and then watching him, shadowing him in places he figured she thought he wouldn’t be looking. And he wasn’t, really - with how she seemed to have perfected the art of being stealthy as one of the first few of the new team to get her Miraculous, one would be hard-pressed to find her when she didn’t want to be found. And boy howdy did she  _ not  _ like being found.

Well. Most of the time, anyway.

Most of the time on Fridays, Inari was sent to patrol south from where Ladybug claimed north was - north being Ladybug’s patrol route while Chat Noir’s was the west from that. Komodo in turn was usually sent to the east, which meant Fridays had all four (ish?) corners of Paris under the watchful eye of at least one hero. Komodo figured it was because it was going to be the weekend, which meant most people their age would be more inclined to lie around on Friday nights instead of doing homework.

The thing was, Inari moved quickly. Precise in her patrolling, quiet in her maneuvering, Inari was probably one of the only ones on the team who finished their patrols at  _ least  _ two hours early if she wasn’t distracted. And Inari  _ rarely  _ got distracted. Komodo knew this for a fact because Inari was steadily becoming a frequent visitor to his civilian form on Wednesdays, the only other day Inari was on patrol without him. He shared patrol days with Inari on Fridays and Saturdays, which meant that she probably visited his place when he was out on patrol.

_ Hope she doesn’t miss me  _ **_too_ ** _ much,  _ Komodo thinks idly to himself as he runs across the rooftops, eyes switching between the road below and the rooftops before him.  _ Or questions where I could be. But then again, she’s not really one for exposing herself. She’s probably fine - she’s following  _ **_me_ ** _ right now after all. _

He knew she was following him. You didn’t exactly become aware that you had someone shadowing you without picking up on little things. No matter how much she hid, Komodo could somehow  _ feel  _ her presence in the area - it was the same feeling one got whenever you knew you weren’t really alone anywhere, like someone was hiding in plain sight but you couldn’t see them. Inari kept to the shadows - and in the dark of the night, there were  _ many  _ shadows. It probably wouldn’t be a stretch in his opinion that she was hiding in the shadow of the chimney right behind him.

Komodo suddenly stops in realization.

The wind is eerily still, and then suddenly something cuts through the air, hurtling at his head. He very nearly gets hit in the head by it, but he manages to barely sidestep it and quite nearly falls off the roof for his troubles.

“Too slow,” says the voice, clear as day behind him. It’s not patronizing, or mocking, but simply matter-of-fact.

Komodo snorts as Inari fades back into view. It’s not a Fox power, or so the team thinks, to be able to fade into the shadows. Komodo knew for a fact that that was more of the Tiger’s skillset - his stint as a temporary Tiger had taught him that the Tiger lurked in the shadows before pouncing on their prey or bolstering their allies with a mighty roar.

“I’d really appreciate it if I didn’t have to always be watching my back for flying instruments, Wonderfox,” Komodo says as he takes Inari’s outstretched hand, pulling himself up. He watches as the heroine goes to pick up her tossed flute before tucking it back into place. “I know for a fact you can’t get flutes for cheap.”

Inari tilts her head to the side again. It’s a tic of hers, he’d realized at some point - she tended to it when she was still gathering what she wanted to say behind the mask. He was pretty sure she wasn’t even aware she did it. “The weapons get repaired as necessary, do they not?”

“Well, yeah, but,” Komodo reaches for the hilt of his sword and feels it before saying, “Well. That’s a  _ reed  _ flute, isn’t it?”

Inari nods.

“Don’t you think it’s kinda reckless to just… throw it at me to test my reflexes?”

Komodo might have been imagining it, but it sounded like Inari had snorted behind her mask. “I know my weapon, Komodo. I know its limits, its capabilities, and how much abuse it can take from me before it snaps in half like a rusty sword.” She steps back. “You needn’t worry so much about my flute. You have your own to worry about.”

“Have my own flu- oh.  _ Oh  _ you mean my  _ sword  _ of course I’m  _ dumb _ sorry,” Komodo pulls out the blade that came with the Dragon Miraculous and examines it thoughtfully. Its golden blade glints in the moonlight as he turns it over and around awkwardly, unused to its weight.

Inari cocks her head to the side again.

Komodo tightens his grip on the sword, and holds it up in the air to test the weight. It’s not too heavy, but it’s not really something he was used to holding.

“It’s too obvious that you’re inexperienced,” Inari comments when he brings down the sword once more. “Have you never held a sword before?”

Komodo snorts. “Have  _ you? _ ”

“Yes.”

Oh.

He had… admittedly not been expecting that response.

“Come here,” Inari gestures for Komodo to follow her, and, brimming with curiosity, he trails after the Fox as she leaps and bounds over chimneys and rooftops, clearing much of his patrol route for him. To him, it was honestly amazing how little impact she made on the rooftops with each quickstep - it lent a  _ lot  _ to the ‘sneaky fox’ image she seemed to be cultivating.

_ Or… well. Not  _ **_sneaky_ ** _ ,  _ he admits to himself as he leaps over a gap.  _ Skulking? Nah, too  _ **_evil_ ** _ sounding. Catty? No, that’s Chat Noir’s thing. And the Tiger’s, I guess. Clandestine? … Doesn’t work for this situation. _

“You’re talking to yourself.”

Komodo promptly trips over his own two feet and lands face first into a bunch of roof tiles. Even if she barely moves and doesn’t say anything, he  _ knows  _ and  _ feels  _ Inari wince at his slip. “D. Don’t laugh at me.”

“Do you think so little of me,  _ tokage? _ ” Inari asks, crouching down in front of him. When he pries his face off of the roof tiles and looks up at her, he sees her unchanging mask greeting him. “Do I seem like the type to laugh at your schadenfreude?”

She didn’t. “... Nah. Not really.”

“Then why ask me not to laugh?”

“It’s a bad habit,” Komodo admits, lying back face down on the roof before rolling over so he can sit up properly instead. He pulls himself back up to his feet while Inari stands once more along with him. “So anyway. Tokage?”

“What were you thinking about?” Inari deflects the question with her own, something that makes him raise an eyebrow, but he doesn’t pry as she begins to walk again. He goes to match each step as he walks by her side, the two of them strolling on the rooftops of Paris under the moonlight. “You were mentioning words and their synonyms, weren’t you?”

Komodo hums thoughtfully. “Sorry, that was me thinking about how to describe you. Didn’t expect it to be out loud.”

“You were trying to describe me?”

“Is that so surprising?” Komodo asks a little defensively. “We  _ are  _ teammates. I have to be prepared to answer questions on what I think about my teammates if ever any reporters manage to corner me and everything.”

“Is that so?”

Komodo knows that tone of voice. Inari used it often when they were in the safety of his room and she knows he’s not telling the whole truth. “Well.  _ That _ , and I’d really like to describe you in general. I can say stuff like ‘Kaiser’s a show-off’ and ‘Medusa’s a ticking time bomb’, but I haven’t yet figured out how to describe  _ you _ in particular.”

“There’s nothing that interesting about me beyond that I am a hero like you,” Inari says honestly, and the way she says it is so straightforward that Komodo almost rolls with it. Almost. Her gloved hands rest above the base of her spine as they walk. “And even that is beginning to lose its charm with many of us running around helping Ladybug as needed.”

She had a point, he supposes. “Okay fair, but consider this: you’re like a ninja.” Pause. His eyes light up, and he stops, prompting Inari to stop and face him as well. “A  _ ninja! _ ”

“A ninja,” Inari repeats. “Is that really how you’re going to describe me?”

Komodo flicks the shoulder armor. “Well. A samurai, I guess. Which is totally different, but you get what I mean. It fits too, since you just told me you know how to use a sword.” Beat. “Hey, wait a minute. How come you know how to use a sword?”

“Now that’s a secret,” Inari answers, and he thinks that had she not been wearing her mask, she would be winking at him at that moment. “Anyway, speaking of swords… you don’t know how to use yours, correct?”

The Dragon slouches as they walk, steepling his hands together and putting them behind his head in a lackadaisical manner. “Well, you already saw how I hold my sword and called me out for it, so I can’t deny it, can I?”

“You hold it like a batter holds a baseball bat, but if his hands are coated in butter and maple syrup,” Inari says flatly. “Your stance is wrong, as is your posture, and more often than not you use the blunt side more than the sharp edges of it.”

Komodo recoils at each criticism, but doesn’t take it to heart - for the most part. Inari meant well, she really did - she was just…  _ incredibly  _ direct in her wording. “Ow. Thanks for the hundred and one blades to the heart, Wonderfox.”

“It’s a compliment,” Inari says, which makes him pause. “Most people cut themselves on their sword by holding the wrong end instead. You at least seem to possess the braincells to hold the actual sword’s grip.”

Komodo snickers, baring fangs. “Okay, that’s actually really reassuring. Thanks.”

“Either way, my point still stands. You are inexperienced with the blade,” Inari raises a hand to the chin of her mask thoughtfully as they walk. “Have you considered taking classes?”

“ _ Swordfighting classes? _ ”

“Granted, that’s very hard to find here in Paris, but most recommended,” Inari muses thoughtfully. “A substitute perhaps would be to find and attend a fencing class, or perhaps seek out a teacher or tutor.”

“Hm…”

Take up fencing? Sure, he supposed, that’d probably be fun. But then again, he wasn’t exactly one for sports by default - and he’d seen how much energy Adrien and Kagami put into their bouts. He’d been to a  _ competition  _ for crying out loud. He wasn’t sure if he wanted that kind of heartache - and muscle ache. That, and it meant buying equipment.  _ So  _ much equipment. He didn’t want to bother his mother about it when Chris kept changing interests on the fly and his mother wanted to encourage him to find his own creative niche like Nino had.

“If you’re considering fencing, there are three kinds,” Inari says out loud. Komodo glances at her as she says, “The  _ sabre,  _ the  _ epee, _ and the  _ foil _ , though I’ve experienced all three as a trial phase. I think the  _ sabre  _ might work for you.”

Sabre was the fencing Adrien and Kagami did… or at least he thinks so. He hopes he remembered it correctly. “Too energetic. I uh. I’ve seen videos.”

“Hm…” Inari scrutinizes him before saying, “Perhaps  _ epee  _ is your best bet then.  _ Epee  _ fighters can land hits  _ anywhere _ on the opponent’s body unlike a  _ sabre _ or a  _ foil _ , but they rely more on waiting to strike but never staying still.”

Yeah, maybe he could work with that. “Sounds good. But I dunno if I’ll be able to find fencing classes for…  _ epee?  _ Anytime soon, anyway.”

“There’s bound to be one somewhere. Push comes to shove, there’s always seeking out a personal teacher,” Inari shrugs. “Either way, I believe the moon is at its peak, which means we have to go home. It was nice talking with you tonight about swords, Komodo.”

Komodo’s lips quirk up in a smile. Or a smirk? He hopes it comes off as a smile. “You like swords?”

“You could say that,” Inari replies. “Either way, I’d best go home. My family might look for me - and I’d rather not worry them. ‘Til next time,  _ tokage _ .”

As she jumps on top of a chimney to bound off in the direction of her home, Komodo calls out teasingly, “You still haven’t told me what that means, Wonderfox.”

“It just means ‘lizard’ in Japanese,” Inari answers. “And a lizard you will be until you learn the sword properly, Komokun.”

The wind blows between them, and Inari disappears once more into the night. Komodo’s tempted to ask Kaiser for tips on how to make dramatic exits as he heads back home, thoughts about swords and teachers and pretty fox girls with sharp tongues and unchanging masks running wild and stirring unrest in both mind and heart.

He admittedly doesn’t get much sleep that night.


	9. page nine: twenty questions

“Favorite food?”

“Depends on what type of food you’re talking about.”

Nino leans back on his chair, crossing one leg over the other as he rubs his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm… never thought about that specific thing. Uh… pasta?”

“Squid ink spaghetti topped with salmon sashimi.”

“That’s a  _ thing?” _

Inari nods once, hands folding neatly on her lap. “You asked for my favorite, and that’s mine. But it’s not something I have very often. If you’re asking about what I have more often, it’d be pumpkin alfredo.”

Nino hums in approval.

Inari had been paying mostly regular Wednesday visits to him for nearly three or so months now, and they’d settled into something like a routine. She’d slip into his room once she was certain he was aware of her presence, he’d leave the window open for a faster getaway, and then they’d proceed to do quite literally anything. For Inari, that was usually just sitting on his bed and taking a rest. For Nino, it was usually playing (mostly) onesided Twenty Questions. It was the least energy-draining thing to do.

Nino looks briefly up to the ceiling in thought, crossing his arms. “Okay, uh… favorite drink?”

“Orange juice.”

“That’s pretty simple. Nothing wrong with that though. I like grape juice myself.”

“I see.”

“Favorite teammate? Miraculous teammate, I mean.”

“I play no favorites.”

It wasn’t exactly very productive, but it was fun trying to see which questions Inari was willing to answer that night, and which ones she would not answer until three nights later. Nino was honestly rather thankful she was willing to humor his questions, and he was careful not to ask anything that would have betrayed her identity. He always made sure his questions were safe to ask - none of that ‘which arrondissement do you live nearest to’ or ‘what school do you go to’ stuff. That’d be dumb.

Nino cracks a cheeky grin. “You really don’t play any favorites?”

“That’s your sixth question, and no, I don’t,” Even with her mask on, it was clear that Inari was unimpressed with the question. Toying with the edge of one of her sleeves, she adds, “Favoritism does nobody any good in a team, of course.”

Nino nods sagely as though he’d received the knowledge of the universe. Steepling his fingers together, he rests his head on his palms as he dares to lean back on his chair a little more. “Fair enough. Ladybug or Chat Noir?”

“Neither.”

He peers at her over the rim of his glasses, perplexed. “Why?”

“I carry my reasons to the afterlife.”

“Hm. Okay,” Nino raises an eyebrow. “Medusa or Kaiser?”

“Neither.”

Nino removes his hands from behind his head as he grabs onto his knees, leaning forward. “Okay, you have to be messing with me by now. You didn’t pick anyone between Ladybug and Chat Noir, and now you don’t even pick between Medusa or Kaiser.”

“I like them, but they all have faults that deter me from staying around them for too long,” Inari explains simply. A hand tucks a lock of hair behind her ear as she adds, “No offense to them, of course. I’m just… not very keen on being as noisy as they all are.”

“... Well, I guess it makes sense. You’re not exactly the noisiest fox I’ve ever seen.”

Inari goes silent for a moment, making Nino worry that he’d accidentally said something wrong, when she asks, “May I take my turn?”

“Your what?”

“My turn at twenty questions.”

“I haven’t asked twenty questions yet, but sure,” Nino gestures for her to move aside, and she goes to rest her back against the headrest as Nino flings himself onto the bed face first, spread eagle. His sudden weight on the bed makes it rise briefly - accompanied by a  _ pomf _ sound - before the air escapes the mattress again, leaving him to roll over and face the ceiling. “Shoot.”

“How are you?”

Nino blinks. “Uh… I’m doing pretty okay? Besides the fact that I’m still not sure where I want to go for  _ lycée _ , I think I’ve been doing pretty good for myself. Why do you ask?” Pause. “You can count that as one of my twenty questions.”

“... It’s nothing,” Inari says eventually. Nino hears the sound of sheets rustling near his ear, and suddenly he finds Inari’s form looming over him, silhouette stark against his ceiling light. Most people would have been spooked by the sight of an unchanging fox mask staring directly at them, but Nino was not scared in the slightest. He only met her gaze head on, curious. Or as head on as he could get anyway, what with her staring at him from the side.

Twisting around on the sheets, Nino eventually finds himself with his feet almost dangling off the edge of his bed, arms finding their way to his sides and his hands clasped together on top of his stomach, staring up at Inari yet again. Instead of her face being sideways, it was now most certainly upside down from his perspective.

“My turn again,” Nino says, and tentatively he holds a hand up. When Inari doesn’t move, he traces the stripes on her mask. “Do you have a normal mask like the other heroes do? The uh… domino mask thing, I mean?”

Inari is quiet for a few minutes, but she doesn’t push Nino’s hand away. “... What do you think?”

“...” Nino focuses on the two eyeholes in her mask - two thin slits that betrayed nothing of her eyes’ color, shape, or whether or not they shone. No matter how hard he tried, he saw nothing but black. But he knew there was a face under there. “I think… that you probably do have a mask on under there, but you don’t like showing your face.”

“...”

Nino’s fingers glide across the painted-on mouth. “That’s just my guess though. I’m not gonna ask if I’m right or not if you don’t want me to, of course.” He moves to drop his hand back onto his chest, but the brief touch of Inari’s fingers against his wrist make him freeze up, watching wide-eyed as she guides his fingers to the edge of her mask, and keeps them there. Only her fingertips were pressed against his wrist, and yet it felt like she’d used her whole hand to keep his there. “... ‘Nari?”

“...” Inari is still staring at him. He knows that much - he can  _ feel  _ her stare. He  _ knows _ the feeling of her stare all too well, both as Nino and as Komodo.

She doesn’t say anything still. Her fingertips remained on his wrist.

Did she want him to…?

Nino’s fingers twitch slightly, nearly hooking onto the edge of her mask. When she doesn’t move, statue-still as she had always been, he cautiously lets two of his fingers slide under her mask. His eyes are completely focused on Inari’s reaction.

Inari doesn’t react. Visibly, anyway.

His fingers reach further underneath the mask, and brush against lips he should have known were there, yet he hadn’t expected all the same. Lips he was very well aware had touched his own cheek before.

Inari’s lips part slightly under his touch.

The speed at which Nino withdraws his hand and falls off the bed is record-breaking.

_ THUNK! _

Inari peers over the side of the bed in concern. “... Are you alright?”

Nino groans, face already as red as Nathaniel’s hair as he buries it in his palms. “Just peachy. Incredibly peachy. I’m counting that as one of your twenty questions.”

“Do you need help getting back up on the bed?”

“You know what? I think I’m just gonna chill down here, actually,” Nino declares, unable to remove his hands from his face, embarrassment and shame coursing through him. His cheeks continue to burn under his palms as he adds, “Yeah, you know, lying down on the floor is totally the raddest thing to do nowadays, didn’t you know? You can have the bed, I’m gonna chill here for a bit.”

Nino hears the sound of his sheets rustling, and for a moment he dares to peek out in between his fingers to see Inari lying stomach down on his bed, armor and all, mask slightly off-kilter. Her cheek rests on her arm as she watches him from above with the same cool and composed demeanor she always had. It was  _ frustrating  _ how calm she was about -

\- why was  _ he  _ so worked up about it, anyway?

Why the  _ fuck  _ was this such a big deal, anyway?

Nino drags his hands down his cheeks, willing his palms to scrape away the continuously blooming heat under the skin. He didn’t understand it. He didn’t understand it at  _ all _ .

“Your cheeks are red,” Inari points out, a hand reaching out. Nino will never admit to anyone that he’d involuntarily squeaked when Inari had pressed her palm against one of his cheeks. “They’re incredibly warm as well. Are you catching a fever?”

Nino squawks incoherently. At Inari’s stare, his face burns an even brighter red, and he hurriedly sits up - but not without nearly knocking Inari’s mask off and not without receiving the mother of all vertigo-induced headaches because of how fast he’d sat up. The piercing pain slices through his skull, making him hiss as he rests his head on the edge of his bed, gritting his teeth. God that was such a stupid move. Inari probably thought he was such a fucking moron.

He dares to look back up at Inari, and is startled yet again by the proximity. Her mask was the only thing keeping their faces apart - the protruding snout part of her mask included. It wasn’t a very big gap to close at all - and the thought makes him freeze.

“... I think I should go,” Inari murmurs eventually after a few tense minutes of silence pass, the two of them having just stared at each other that whole time as Nino’s headache had subsided considerably. Nino watches as she rises from his bed carefully before swinging her legs over to the side of the bed he was laying against, effectively sitting next to his head.

Nino winces as another stab of pain hacks at his temples, but he still manages to say, “We haven’t even asked each other twenty questions yet.”

“Is that really what you’re worried about?” Inari asks, a hint of amusement in her tone. “Alright. You have nine questions, and I have eighteen. Are you sure?”

Nino balks a little before lifting his head up from the bed. Suddenly his throat seemed a lot drier than it had been before. “I- uh- hmngh...”

Inari cocks her head to the side, waiting.

“Were… were you telling me to check for myself if you had a mask under there?” Nino asks, trying extremely hard to keep his composure as he goes to meet her gaze head on. He didn’t even know  _ why  _ this was such a big deal at all. He really didn’t. But it  _ was  _ a big deal to him for some stupid reason and by the gods would he let it go unanswered. “Or was I just making a fool out of myself for no reason? And did I like- totally overstep any unspoken boundaries? Because that’s a thing I don’t want to do. Would never do. Not to you, or Marinette, or to anyone.”

Inari’s head rights itself again as she focuses on him entirely. “I was being very vague. You weren’t making a fool of yourself. You did not overstep.” Her fingers lightly drum against her thigh. “A question from me. Why do you worry so much about how I perceived what you did?”

“... I don’t know,” Nino answers honestly, and Inari doesn’t press further on that topic.

Three questions for Nino, seventeen for Inari.

Inari turns her gaze to the clock. “I really should leave, Nino. It’s getting much later than I should be out, and there’s only so much time I can spend in here past midnight before I regret it tomorrow in school.”

Nino blanches. Right. School was still a thing. Inari had already implied she still went to school. “I- I am  _ so  _ sorry, ‘Nari, I shouldn’t have wasted your time like this-”

“It’s alright, Nino,” Inari reassures quietly. “I like spending time with you, so I consider this time well spent. Don’t say that you wasted my time, when you did nothing but enrich it.”

Nino barely registers the fact that Inari’s feet hit the floor, as well as himself standing up, but he does however manage to register the fact that he’s at his windowsill watching Inari slide through it - but not before looking back at him one more time.

“I still owe you three questions, don’t I?” She asks eventually after a painfully long minute. “Are you able to think of any more?”

Was he?

Nino ransacks his brain, and only produces these few questions: “... Why do you visit me every Wednesday? Why me?”

“Two questions, one answer. It’s as you said before… we’re friends, aren’t we?” Inari gives him a nod, and something inside his chest flutters at her words. He doesn’t understand it. “I just… want to check up on you whenever I’m on patrol, because you’re my friend.”

Nino can’t help the grin that curls up on his face at her words. “I- yeah-  _ yeah,  _ we’re friends- it’s- sorry, my brain’s kinda scrambled right now, ‘Nari.”

“It’s alright. I have a friend whose brain runs in a similar wavelength,” Inari’s mask face was unchanging, but he didn’t need to see her true face to feel the mirth in her voice as she speaks. “You two are… very alike, actually. For the most part. I… believe you two would get along, even.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Really now?”

“Mm.” Inari ducks her head, and for a moment, goes still. Before Nino can ask why, however, her hand touches his shoulder, and he nearly jumps. “I’m afraid I’ll have to answer your last question next time, Nino. I really should go.”

“I- uh- yeah! Sorry for- for keeping you for so long. Really.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Good night, Nino,” Inari murmurs.

Nino steps back, and in a brief gust of wind, Inari’s already launched herself back up to the rooftops, off running towards the place she called home. He goes to shut the window, and draw the curtains.

The instant that’s over with, Nino’s knees turn to jelly and he folds over right in front of the window.

Longg, sensing that Inari had already finally left, peeks his head out of the pencil holder on NIno’s desk. “Your cheeks burn with the heat of a hundred dragons, hatchling. We will work on that eventually. You were very bold tonight with your foxy little friend, and for that I applaud you and pat your back metaphorically.”

Nino buries his face in his hands again out of embarrassment. “Longg, please stop talking about it right now.”

“Alright, hatchling, but you and I both know that this conversation is not yet over.”

“ _ Please _ .”


	10. page ten: new student

It’s a Monday when everything Nino had ever known to be true was turned on its head all over again.

A good majority of the students at the school were milling around, happy to be able to see each other again for another year. Nino in particular was relieved that his mother had more brain cells than he did because she’d reminded him that morning that he didn’t need to think about where he wanted to go for _ lycée  _ yet because he still had two more years in Francois-Dupont to go with everyone else before they had to part ways. He had  _ plenty  _ of time to think about things, but for now he had to focus on just enjoying his time in school the best he could with everyone.

Except things didn’t always go according to plan. Or whatever. Not that he had a plan beyond ‘make sure to hang out with everyone’ and ‘not get a failing grade’, on top of ‘help Ladybug and Chat Noir take care of Paris’.

“Oh,  _ no, _ not him again.”

Nino raises an eyebrow at Chloe’s groan of frustration, and follows her gaze towards the entrance of the school. At first he doesn’t see anything in particular that would have drawn her ire - just Adrien walking in, smiling and laughing at someone he couldn’t see.

And then he sees who’s  _ behind  _ Adrien, stalking after him like a vulture.

The attire was mostly the same as when they’d last seen him - black vest over dark gray long sleeved collared shirt, black slacks, black shoes. He definitely stood out from most of the students at Francois-Dupont with how he dressed, though that wasn’t even including the fact that his face was particularly dark and stormy. Even  _ Juleka  _ didn’t radiate moodiness like he did.

“The resemblance is scary,” Sabrina shivers lightly, rubbing at her arms. “It’s like they’re twins, but you know who’s the good one and who’s the evil one!”

Nathaniel frowns. “Well, they looked more like each other the last time we saw him. At least now you can tell who’s who even if he messes up his hair because his hair’s longer than Adrien’s now.”

“And he’s taller. Right? He’s taller right? You can see it a little better than I can, Nathaniel.”

“... Yeah, he  _ does  _ look taller, Brina. But maybe that’s just the distance.”

“He looks like a  _ rat _ ,” Chloe grouses. “Ugh. Why is he even here?!”

“Hey guys!” Adrien waves to the group as he approaches. They greet him before eyeing the boy meandering about behind him - which appeared to be what he wanted, because Adrien suddenly grins and loops an arm around the other boy, squeezing him to his side. Nino sees a hurricane of emotions flash through the other boy’s eyes, but he doesn’t move away. “You guys remember Felix, right?”

Nino smiles. It’s all teeth. “Hard to forget someone who looks exactly like you, dude.”

“Well, starting today, Felix is gonna be in our class this year!” Adrien announces, grinning widely. “Aunt Amelie’s got something to do in France for a while so in the meantime she got Felix enrolled here for the year!”

Chloe scowls. Honestly, Nino really doesn’t blame her. “ _ Wonderful _ .”

“You’re no ray of sunshine yourself, Bourgeois,” Felix snips - the first thing he’d said to anyone there the whole time he’d been standing there next to Adrien. Carefully he pries his cousin off of him as he says, “Adrien, I’m going upstairs to talk to the teacher if you don’t mind. Your friends don’t really want me here and quite frankly I don’t want to be here either.”

Adrien frowns as Felix adjusts his bag before heading up the stairs before turning to his friends. “Guys, come on. I know Lila’s turned us all off to new students but this really isn’t fair to Felix.”

“You remember the  _ last  _ time he was here, right?” Nathaniel points out. “I don’t bear too much ill will against the guy myself, but he was, to put it lightly, a total ass to everyone.”

Adrien sighs. “Believe me, I know. And I already told him off for that a long time ago. But he’s different now, I promise! He’s not the same Felix Graham de Vanily you guys met the first time.”

“... I’ll trust in you dude,” Nino says eventually. “If you say he’s changed, then I’ll believe you.”

“Well,  _ I’ve  _ known that boy nearly as long as you have, Adrikins,” Chloe sniffs. “And if you ask me, his vibes may not be as rancid anymore, but he’s  _ still  _ a rat.”

“ _ Chloe,”  _ chorus both Nathaniel and Sabrina.

Adrien shakes his head, laughing awkwardly. “Well, I can’t change your mind that easily about him because of that, yeah, but do give him a chance, Chlo. If you can change, so can he.”

_ Oh, that is  _ **_dirty_ ** _ ,  _ Nino thinks, because he knows that the words had affected Chloe more than it should have based on the way something flashes in Chloe’s blue eyes. With a harrumph, she crosses her arms and pouts before eventually sighing and saying, “Fine. But only for you, Adrikins. He’d better thank me for this opportunity.”

“Why do I get the feeling that the classroom is going to explode the minute we walk back in there?” Adrien says as Chloe heads back for their classroom, the redhead brigade hot on her heels.

Nino only pats his back in response.

* * *

Surely enough, thanks to the fact that it was a new school year, the seating arrangements had changed once again, especially now that Felix had unintentionally filled in the slot Lila had once occupied in their batch. Certainly there were other new students in the other classes, but that didn’t matter at the moment. They were more likely than not much, much friendlier than Felix Graham de Vanily.

Ms. Bustier was their teacher again, which was to be expected probably. She’d had experience handling their particular collective - and she was more likely than not already attached to the ‘akuma class’ label along with the rest of them. She still smiled as warmly as she did last year, but it seemed like she’d taken a lesson in discipline after the issue with Lila, and was a lot stricter. Not like Mendeleiev, but enough that horsing around would  _ probably  _ be reduced this year.

Nino this year had been placed next to Alix in the front row to the right, which wasn’t a bad deal all things considered. Alix was cool. Kim, on the other hand, was placed in the far back right with Juleka - something that Nino thought was a bad idea until he’d seen Kim smile at her and Juleka actually smile back. Mylene and Alya had been put in the front row to the left, out of Nino’s direct line of sight, which had been a nice gesture, while Max and Sabrina had been placed behind them.

Surprisingly - or perhaps unsurprisingly, given that they  _ were  _ more openly friends now -, Chloe and Marinette were seated next to each other this year behind Alix and Nino. Behind them sat Rose and Nathaniel, and across from them Ivan still occupied one whole row to himself. Nino was pretty sure he was still seated in the exact same spot he used to occupy. And in the last row, all the way behind him on the left, across from Kim and Juleka, sat Adrien and Felix.

“This seating arrangement  _ should  _ stay the same for at least half a school year, alright class?” Ms. Bustier says with a smile. “I had a little debate with Ms. Mendeleiev on what would probably be the most productive seating arrangement especially with Felix now in our class, and this was the most optimal result!”

Nino looks around, and he had to admit it was… definitely a good idea. Keeping Alix and Kim apart in class meant neither of them could bother the other. Putting Adrien and Felix together allowed Felix to get a feel for the class from the back with his cousin by his side. Putting Sabrina and Chloe apart but not  _ too  _ far apart ensured that Chloe was able to see her on the side without relying too heavily on a deskmate that would be inclined to do her work for her if they saw her struggling too much. There were a lot more good reasons, but Nino didn’t think too much about it.

Alix raises her hand next to him. “Ms. Bustier, after six months are we allowed to choose our own seating arrangement again?”

“If ever the time comes that you still don’t feel very comfortable with your current seating arrangements after a few months, then we’ll talk.”

“Okay…”

“With that being said, everyone please get out your tablets and open up the file with the heron and the beetle on top of it…”

* * *

When lunch rolls around, Nino is not surprised in the slightest that Adrien drags Felix along with him - ‘to make him feel more welcome’, he says, ‘until he makes his own friends, you know?’. It wasn’t very ideal, given that Chloe looked like she wanted to bolt towards Marc, Aurore, and Mireille’s table with Nathaniel and Sabrina in tow, but it  _ was  _ funny to see Felix’s equivalent of digging in his heels while Adrien literally dragged him towards the table.

Marinette is eerily calm as Felix is forced to sit across from Adrien. “Hello, Felix.”

“Marinette,” Felix mutters. It was probably a good sign that he was on first-name basis with Adrien’s sort-of girlfriend? Maybe.

“Are you adjusting well?” Marinette asks, and it’s then that Nino remembers that Marinette was representative. And she was nice. Of  _ course  _ she would ask him that. “Before you answer me with something sarcastic, I’m asking this very objectively as a class representative. I’m delivering any comments or complaints to Ms. Bustier.”

Felix rolls his eyes - an action that makes Nathaniel hold on to Chloe’s hand to prevent her from standing up - before answering, “Alright, I suppose. I’d… honestly expected much worse out of your class, especially with the initial hostility this morning.”

“I mean, you  _ were  _ an absolute ass the first time most of the class met you months ago,” Nathaniel points out bluntly, a sentence which makes most of the people at the table stare at him in wonder. “Impersonating Adrien, insulting everyone, getting three of our friends indirectly Akumatized-”

Adrien tries to intervene. “He was just-”

“Adrien, I don’t need you to explain my actions,” Felix says sternly, making his cousin clam up. “Yes, I did all those. I won’t deny that. I was… a horrible person. Maybe still am horrible. But… I’m willing to make attempts towards being a better person. If none of you believe me, then so be it, but that won’t stop me. I owe a lot to Adrien, and…”

Felix falters for a moment, and Nino considers briefly entertaining the idea that Felix really  _ was  _ a changed man. Only briefly. “... whatever. Just… know that I’m trying for Adrien and Adrien alone. My favorite cousin deserves no less.”

“... Good on you, Felix,” Marinette eventually says, and when Nino looks at her he sees a much warmer smile on her face. “We can both agree on something after all, and it’s that Adrien deserves only the best.”

She holds out a hand, and Felix takes it, shaking her hand from across the table. “Thank you, Marinette. I’m very grateful that we can at least agree on doing what’s best for Adrien.”

“I think mostly everyone at this table can agree to that,” Marinette giggles, and said giggle serves to lighten the mood. Chloe herself had already relaxed somewhat at the very least as Felix and Marinette let go of each other’s hands, and was now back to her usual debating with Nathaniel over something incredibly trivial.

Nino looks at the empty seat in front of him, next to Felix. Kagami still hadn’t come out for lunch.

“What’s wrong, Nino?” Sabrina asks.

Nino blinks, and shakes his head. “Ah- nothing’s wrong, dudette. Nothing at all, I promise.”

His thoughts are interrupted by the sound of someone jogging towards their table, and with a smile on his face he realizes it’s the girl he’d been thinking about. He raises his hand in a wave to call her over, which she returns with her small but genuine smile, but the smile melts away as he watches her gaze trail over to Felix. He chokes back a laugh at the fact that her face looked like she’d eaten a lemon as she approaches.

“Kagami!” Adrien calls. “You know Felix, don’t you?”

“Graham de Vanily,” Kagami greets icily, staring down at Felix like he was the worst thing since rotten meat.

“Tsurugi,” Felix answers just as coolly.

Nino had a feeling he was missing something.

Adrien grimaces. “Ah. Right. You weren’t there for his apology.”

“His  _ what _ .” Kagami turns to him. “Say that again.”

“Felix apologized for what he did months ago, and is trying to be a better person now for Adrien’s sake,” Sabrina summarizes when Adrien fumbles for a half second. “You just missed it, really.”

Kagami focuses a critical gaze on Felix again, and Nino doesn’t know why, but Felix meeting her gaze head on makes him a little nervous. “Is that true, Graham de Vanily?”

“Are you calling me a liar, Tsurugi?” Felix challenges. “You weren’t even there to hear me and gauge for yourself.”

“She’s definitely not calling you a truther,” Nathaniel mutters under his breath, making Chloe choke on her pasta.

“Oh,  _ forgive me _ if I don’t always take the words of someone who’s established as their first impression that they’re callous and a troublemaker at face value,” Kagami jabs, dropping her bag in between her chair and Felix’s. “I don’t trust you, Graham de Vanily. Especially not after that stunt you pulled that jeopardized Adrien.”

Something akin to a pained look crosses Felix’s face in that instant, making Marinette speak up. “Kagami, it’s okay. It’s the truth.”

“Marinette?” Kagami looks at her.

Marinette nods, and Kagami sits down, deflating considerably. “It’s the truth, Kagami. He did apologize for his actions the last time we met him, and he doesn’t care if we don’t believe that he’s trying his best to be a better person for Adrien, as long as Adrien recognizes it for himself.”

“...” Kagami narrows her eyes at Felix. “... Marinette doesn’t lie, and hates liars. I’ll take her word for it then, but you still haven’t gained my trust, Graham de Vanily.”

Felix snorts, but Nino sees that his eyes are now more alight with… mischief? “Good to know. Shall I be meeting with you on the  _ piste  _ later after school then?”

“The- wait, you fence?” Nino asks suddenly, prompting Felix to look at him. “God. You and Adrien already look like twins, now this?”

Felix rolls his eyes. “Believe me. I’m more of an  _ epee  _ fencer than these two, but I’ve practiced  _ sabre  _ before. It’ll be easier to take her down on my own terms because of how aggressive she is.”

“Would you like to  _ bet  _ on that, Felix?” Kagami asks.

Felix’s grin is… unsettling. But it’s not unsettling like Lila’s brand of unsettling. It’s more like the kind of smile that makes you feel like they’re goading you on. “Perhaps.”

“Fine,” Nino had  _ never  _ seen Kagami look so…  _ frightening _ . There was a certain sort of electricity crackling between Felix and Kagami’s gazes at that moment that made the hairs on his arms stand up. “After class, suit up. Adrien can be the referee.”

“Wait- is he  _ fencing  _ you for your trust?!” Chloe exclaims in disbelief.

Kagami shakes her head. “No. But you can tell a lot about someone’s intentions on the battlefield, Chloe.”

“Battlefield this, battlefield that. Just try and land a hit on me,  _ tsubomi _ .”

Kagami  _ freezes _ . “I’m going. To  _ kill  _ you.”

“You can damn well try.”

Nino  _ really  _ felt like he was missing something here, but one thing was for sure: he didn’t like that his stomach was churning with some unrecognizable feeling at the sight of Felix and Kagami’s…  _ something _ that was currently going on.

He didn’t understand anything at all.

* * *

“Mimi!”

Kagami’s stiff posture immediately relaxes at the sound of his voice, and when she faces him he’s greeted with a smile. “Nino. I apologize for earlier. I… hadn’t been expecting him at the lunch table. I didn’t even get to talk with you like I usually do.”

“S’OK,” Nino says honestly. “You were really angry at Felix.”

“Ugh.” Kagami scowls, making Nino snicker. “Will you watch us later? We need spectators and Adrien might have difficulty being biased towards both of us to make a real decision.”

Nino grins cheekily at her, cheeks warm. “You’re implying I wouldn’t be biased towards you.”

“Of course I’m counting on that, but I also know you’re more forgiving than I am,” Kagami smiles pleasantly at him. “And I know you’re more willing to give him a chance than I am. Please help your best friend judge our match later.”

“Anything for you, Mimi.”

“Thank you, Nino.”

The sparkle in Kagami’s eyes makes his heart take a running jump off a cliff and skydive into the depths below.


	11. page eleven: so close

_ With all due respect, Hawkmoth - not really -, I was  _ **_counting_ ** _ on a calm day today. _

The words Nino say in his head are sarcastic as he ducks into the clinic, barricading the door. He hears the sound of glass breaking outside, and with a wince he tugs on the Dragon Miraculous, looking around to see if anyone was in the clinic. Fortunately for him, Ms. Flamel had been out when the akuma had attacked, allowing the boy to lift his cap and let Longg come out.

“Are you certain this is a wise idea?” Longg asks him. “Somebody may have seen you duck in here and assume the worst if they see Komodo burst out instead.”

Nino jabs a thumb at the window in the clinic. “Secret escape. Push comes to shove, I’m gonna be sneaky as a fox in coming out of here so nobody notices.”

A vine suddenly slams through the door to the clinic, making Nino yelp and bounce back, only barely managing to shout out, “Longg, bring the storm!”

There’s little to no fanfare or fancy dancing when the Miraculous magic washes over Nino this time, and with his sword he hacks away at the vine that had intruded on the clinic to carve himself an exit. Once he’s out, he surges forward with a roar and hacks away at the other vines convulsing and tangling around the school grounds, littering the ground with rapidly wilting vine pieces.

The akuma of the day resembled a towering plant with a large flower, except the ‘flower’ was actually rather reminiscent of a Venus flytrap with the way its petals were ridged with sharp edges resembling a flytrap’s teeth. Most of its vines had already broken through the floor and wrapped around sections of the school, with even more vines no doubt already stretching past and outside Francois-Dupont.

“Let  _ go  _ of me, you lousy excuse for a-!”

Komodo picks up on the scream coming from somewhere to the left and above him, and backflips into the air. His heel connects with a metal pole, which he uses to propel himself forward, mercilessly slashing at a vine that had Aurore Beaureal in its hold. The vine immediately drops Aurore, sending the girl hurtling towards the ground at record speeds, but before Komodo is able to catch her a yellow blur zips by - Kaiser. Komodo lands on one of the railings of the second floor of the school as Kaiser flits angrily in front of him.

“Watch it, scales for brains!” Kaiser barks, cradling Aurore in his arms. The weather girl’s face is slowly turning red as she tries desperately not to look up at Kaiser, picking away at the remains of the vine wrapped around her. “Ever heard of ‘watching out for civilians’?”

Komodo snaps, “I was  _ going  _ to catch her,  _ your Highness _ . I wasn’t going to let her get hurt!”

“She was about to hit the ground!”

“You’re overreacting!”

“I-” Kaiser and Komodo look towards Aurore, who’d already tossed off most of the vine remains on her. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, she mumbles, “I’m alright, really. Can I please be put down now? I need to find Marc - that’s one of my partners,” she explains briefly, remembering that the heroes probably didn’t know Marc personally. “Wait, speaking of- oh,  _ shit _ , Chlo and Nath-”

As if snapping out of a trance, Kaiser gently deposits Aurore on the second floor of the building before chastising, “When you find who you’re looking for, get out of here  _ immediately _ , or signal any of us to get you out of here. Do you understand?”

“Okay.” Aurore nods in determination before making a run for it, reentering one of the classrooms to search for Marc.

Once she’s gone, Kaiser zips out of there before yelling at Komodo, “If you’re going to do some weed whacking, go pick out the civilians first before you do so!”

“And where are  _ you  _ going?!” Komodo hollers at the quickly ascending Bee hero. He narrowly avoids a vine thrashing at him.

Kaiser’s answer is distant, but loud. “I’m going to find Ladybug!”

“YOU’RE JUST GONNA LEAVE ME HERE?!”

Someone coughs behind him. Komodo startles, and turns around, only to blink thoughtfully at the person standing behind him. With the main palette a dark shade of pink with stripes and a familiar set of ears atop her head, he’s quick to realize that whoever she was, she held the Tiger Miraculous.

“I’m guessing Ladybug left you here with me,” Komodo tries. At her nod, he grins, fangs and all. “You’re lucky I’ve had experience with the Tiger, then.”

The new Tiger hero’s eyes widen. “Tigerclaw?”

“It’s Komodo now, tiger cub. What’s your name?”

“... Nightshade.”

Komodo nods in satisfaction. “Cool name. Know how to use that whip of yours? By the way, jump.”

Nightshade and Komodo both jump as another vine thrashes at them. She tugs on the whip around her waist, unwrapping it and then smacking it against the floor. “... Not really, no.”

“Okay-” Komodo ducks as another vine smacks above his head and ruffles Nightshade’s tiger ears, making her snarl. “- easy there, tigress. You know your special power?” A nod. “And the phrases?” Another nod. “Good. All you need to do right now is help me find the root of this thing while also helping me fish out any-”

“Your cowardice is going to be  _ both  _ our downfalls, you idiot!”

“This isn’t  _ cowardice, tsubomi _ \- this is tactics!”

“- civilians and there are two right there  _ come on and help me break down more of the plant - _ ” Komodo bounds off the railing, sword in hand and above his head. He plunges the blade into one of the thicker stems and forces his blade down, tearing a long cut down the plant matter before yanking his sword out. Sap pours out of the wound as Nightshade follows his example, but at a much more harried pace. The tiger heroine’s clawed fingers drag down the plant as well and makes smaller trails, like a cat on curtains.

_ She learns fast,  _ Komodo thinks as he circles around the plant, and nearly chokes at the sight he’s greeted with.

Kagami’s struggling against vines wrapped around her body, legs kicking around, while Felix was quick-stepping around most of the vines lashing at him, the only thing in his hands being a fencing  _ sabre _ that he was currently using to bat away vines. It was working for the most part, but Komodo could see him sweating.

“Tactics my  _ foot _ ,” Kagami yells at him before her eyes are drawn to where Komodo is watching. Almost immediately her eyes widen - something that Felix notices. Adrien’s cousin turns around - a mistake, apparently, because the action makes a vine finally snag him by the ankle and pull him upward, hanging him upside down next to Kagami. Felix hisses at the vine as it shakes him, almost like a cat, making a gigglesnort lodge itself in Komodo’s throat.

_ Wait. Dumbass. FOCUS. Two civilians in danger. _

Komodo pushes against the floor and launches himself at the two vines, slicing through both and making the two fencers hurtle towards the ground - except not really, because Komodo makes a point to catch Felix’s body on one shoulder and wrap his arm around Kagami’s waist as he goes, securing his sword in between his teeth and landing safely on the ground a little bit away from the akuma.

Carefully Komodo releases Felix, who slides out of his hold and dusts himself off with one hand. “... Well. That could’ve gone better.”

“Clearly,” Komodo mutters under his breath. While he’d promised Adrien he’d give Felix a chance, he was still very clearly uncomfortable with him. Still… he wasn’t Nino right now. Felix didn’t know Komodo. He clears his throat a little before saying in a louder voice, “I need to go help Ladybug and the others now. You find somewhere safe to hide.”

Felix’s gaze travels over his entire self thoughtfully before commenting with a raised eyebrow, “Just me?”

“What do you mean just you? Both of you. Protect each other while escaping,” Komodo corrects.

The corner of Felix’s mouth curls up in a mocking smile. Or a smirk. Probably more of a smirk. “Really? Because it seems like you’re already planning on doing that yourself with how tightly you’re holding her, Mr. Hero.”

Komodo blinks.

He looks to his side, and realizes faintly that Felix had been correct - he’d had Kagami pressed to his side so tightly he was surprised she hadn’t reacted. Huh. He wasn’t wrong.

The thought finally processes, and Komodo promptly panics and lets go of the Ice Queen of Francois-Dupont, who’d frozen stiff for some inexplicable reason at the proximity. “Sorry! Sorry! Gah- sorry, I’m just- I’mgonnajustgonowthanksbye-”

Komodo’s ears are burning hot as he puts as much distance as he can between Felix and Kagami. He didn’t know  _ what  _ was that,  _ why  _ he did that, and  _ why  _ he was so embarrassed in the first place, but he was  _ not  _ touching that heaping pile of shit with a ten foot pole.

Not now. Nuh-uh.

**_"WARCRY!"_ **

There went the Tiger's superpower. Komodo knew how Warcry worked - a loud roar that strengthened the minds and bodies of the Tiger's teammates, doubling their power for a limited time as long as the Tiger was in commission. Komodo feels the wave of energy coming from Nightshade's roar practically shake the heavens, and feels his lost energy return to him. With a grin, he throws himself back into the battle.

_Thanks, Nightshade._

* * *

Surprisingly enough, Inari doesn’t show up for this fight, meaning that Komodo had been required by Ladybug to use all three of the elemental powers - a relative first in his opinion. He’d only ever had to use maximum of two in a battle. Komodo’s a little more concerned about the fact that Inari hadn’t shown up, but the thought is shelved temporarily as he picks up on the sound of someone calling him.

When he turns around, he internally sighs with relief, realizing that it’s just Kagami and Felix. The latter is eyeing him thoughtfully yet again as Kagami bows before him, a lot like the time he’d rescued her and her mother from Porcelady.

“Thank you again, Komodo,” Kagami says. “It seems time and time again I find myself indebted to you specifically.”

Why the fuck did the back of his neck feel so hot? “It’s nothing, really. Er, I mean- that is to say- I’m- you’re welcome? Yup. That’s the word. You’re welcome. Wait, those are two words-”

“I get it,” Kagami interrupts gently, and Komodo immediately clams up. He wishes the tips of his ears weren’t burning at that very moment. She mumbles something under her breath, but not even his Miraculous-enhanced hearing picks up on it before she nods at him again. “Thank you again, really.”

Felix snorts. Kagami kicks backward at his shin, but he sidesteps to avoid it.

“Missed me,” Felix taunts her.

Kagami scowls, but to Komodo, who knows her well, it’s more of a playful scowl than a genuine one this time. Or as playful as Kagami could  _ get  _ with someone like Felix anyway. Somehow the idea of Kagami being playful with  _ Felix  _ of all people tastes like metal in his mouth. “Just like you missed me during our first match, and our second. And our third, and fourth-”

“Stop showing off in front of your superhero boyfriend,  _ tsubomi,  _ it doesn’t suit you,” Felix drawls, crossing his arms and relaxing his posture.

Komodo’s face heats up at his insinuation, but before he can say anything Kagami draws a leg back and kicks Felix in the knee. This time, it connects, leaving the blond to howl in pain.

“You really didn’t need to do that,” Komodo says as Kagami lowers her foot. In response, Kagami’s face is mostly neutral as she shrugs. She doesn’t give him a verbal answer, but it’s enough for him.

“Anyway,” Komodo scratches his cheek awkwardly as one of the square-cut gems on his Miraculous turns a dull black, accompanied with a beep. “Miraculous is timing out. Need to go.”

Kagami nods at him. “I understand. I need to get going as well - I promised my mother I’d be home immediately after fencing today.” With a small wave, she turns around and heads towards the car Komodo recognizes as Tatsu, sliding in. Within minutes, the car is already driving away.

“Komodos aren’t really dragons, you know.”

Komodo looks at Felix, who eyes him. “It was the first name that came to mind.”

“Uh-huh.” Felix raises an eyebrow. “Sure.”

Komodo didn’t know  _ how  _ to feel about Felix at all - the teen was still as insufferable and moody as the first time they’d met each other again on the first day of that school year. It had been nearly three weeks now - fifteen days to somehow adjust to how Felix worked in the class dynamic. It was…  _ definitely  _ better than the dynamic they all had with Lila.

Felix didn’t  _ work  _ to be loved by everyone, and seemed perfectly content to be hated by everyone - but Adrien’s vouching for him coupled with his seemingly genuine promise to be a better person for Adrien’s sake had at least won him a few brownie points with people like Rose. And Rose had been  _ akumatized  _ over him, for fuck’s sakes.

“You’re staring at me like I killed your cat.”

Komodo jumps, and shakes his head. “Sorry. I was just thinking. You’re Felix, aren’t you?”

“The word through the heroes’ grapevine tell you that?” Felix asks darkly. “Figures. I don’t blame Ladybug in the slightest though. I was an ass.”

_ Still an ass,  _ Komodo thinks, but he doesn’t say it out loud. “Yeah, uh. Heard from her that you worked for Hawkmoth.”

“Worked  _ with  _ him. There’s a difference, lizard boy,” Felix corrects sharply. “I don’t particularly care for weirdos who hole up in rooms sending out butterflies to bother people feeling even a little bit upset. I had my own plans, thanks.”

Komodo squints at him. That… wasn’t something he’d expected to hear from Felix of all people. “You had plans.”

“None of your business,” Felix scowls. “I can assure you though, they’re not the same as Hawkmoth’s. I don’t want your stupid Miraculous - I want something else.”

Komodo watches him twist a ring on his finger, and idly he’s reminded of Adrien’s nervous tic with his own ring. Both rings were silver too. “You and your cousin wear matching rings?”

“As if. This was one of my aunt’s and uncle’s wedding bands,” Felix’s gaze casts itself to the side before meeting Komodo’s eyes again. “Its matching pair is with  _ uncle _ .”

The image of Gabriel Agreste pops in Komodo’s head, and he turns a little green. “Ah.” Pause. “Wait, if that’s Adrien’s mom’s ring-”

“Anyway. You’ve got like one bar left on your Miraculous,” Felix points out the choker, and with a yelp Komodo realizes he’s correct. “So I’m just gonna go back home already while you deal with that. Got that, lizard?”

Felix walks away before Komodo can retort. Not that he can, really - not when he needs to duck somewhere and hide before Longg gives out.

The impromptu discussion with the Graham de Vanily heir gets his brain thinking though. He needed to talk with Ladybug soon about  _ lots  _ of things before he forgot them again.


	12. page twelve: finding ryuuko

“Ladybug!”

He’s lucky to have decided to come to patrol early that day. He’d emphasized to his mother and his brother that he’d actually be sleeping early that night, and while Chris did not believe that in the slightest, his mother had been willing to humor him and had ushered Chris to bed as well. Nino was grateful for the fact that she wasn’t the type to routinely check in on him at night - else she’d find only an unmade bed and scattered school stuff.

Perched on the chimney of a particularly tall building, Ladybug turns around at his call. At the sight of him leaping towards her, she smiles. “Hey, Komodo! You’re here early tonight, aren’t you?”

“Yeah-  _ w- _ ” Komodo nearly slips on a loose roof shingle as he lands, but he manages to steady himself before straightening out, leaning against the chimney. “Sorry. Anyway, uh, I figured that I’d have more time to ask you stuff if I got here earlier than everyone else.”

Ladybug raises an eyebrow. “Ask me stuff?”

“Yeah, uh- it’s a lot of stuff, I actually had a list but I left it behind and-” Komodo sticks his hands in his hoodie’s pocket and pauses, eyes narrowing, before pulling out a list. “... Huh. Cool. Guess Longg had the braincells tonight.”

Ladybug snorts. “You made a list, huh?”

“Yeah! Y… I was afraid of forgetting something… can I ask you them though?”

“You can ask them, but I might not answer some of them if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course!”

Ladybug slides off the chimney to go sit on the roof instead, gesturing for Komodo to sit next to her. Once he takes a seat, she faces him with a gentle smile, urging him to go on. He coughs into his fist before unfolding the paper list he’d written down the other day. Longg had helped him gather his thoughts, so the list that had been fifty bullet points long had been shortened to only a few.

“Uh… okay. Uh, first… was I the first Dragon Miraculous holder?” Komodo carefully watches the Ladybug heroine’s reaction.

She raises an eyebrow. “What made you ask?”

“Guh… well… do you know someone named Tomoe Tsurugi?” At her nod, he continues. “I uh- she’s my friend Mimi’s mom, and I saved her and her daughter during Porcelady, and while I was doing that she mentioned something about not being aware that someone named ‘Ryuuko’ had gotten replaced, and I was the one with her then.” The paper crumples a little in his hold. “I didn’t hear about someone named Ryuuko on the news or on the Ladyblog.”

He’s a little confused by the wince on Ladybug’s face.  _ Why is she…?  _ “Ah. Haven’t you read the news about the akumatized victim Ikari Gozen?”

“Uh.” Komodo wracks his brain, and vaguely comes up with an article’s title. “... Might’ve heard of it? In passing?”

Ladybug mutters something along the lines of  _ ‘figures that of the bigger akuma they don’t pay attention to, she’s one of them,’ _ before saying, “Ryuuko was indeed the Dragon Miraculous holder before you. She had to be retired immediately because Hawkmoth discovered her civilian identity through Ikari Gozen.”

“... Oh,” Komodo says meekly. “That’s… sad. Was she good at being the dragon?”

“Very much,” Ladybug smiles. “You would’ve gotten along with her, I think, but you can’t exactly be Komodo while she’s still Ryuuko, after all. And no, before you ask, I’m not telling you her civilian identity. It’s her right to keep it a secret.”

“Wasn’t gonna ask,” Komodo grumbles, making her laugh. “Anyway… second question, is Nightshade permanent?”

Ladybug brightens up. “I’ve been thinking about it, but Master Fu’s against it for the time being. He’s not against it being  _ technically  _ her Miraculous to use now, but she can’t have it on hand all the time like we do.”

“Why?”

“She lives in close proximity to another Miraculous holder - if they ever went out to head out for patrol at the same time, they could discover each other’s identities with how close they live to each other,” Ladybug says seriously. “Chat and I still need to talk it out for a while with Master Fu, but until then Nightshade’s technically a temporary Tiger.”

“Hah, try saying that five times fast.”

“No.”

“I think she’s cool, just saying,” Komodo offers. “Anyway, third question… uh, it’s related to Adrien Agreste’s cousin?”

Komodo nearly bursts into laughter when Ladybug’s face contorts into something that made her look like she’d swallowed a lemon. “Oh. What  _ about  _ Felix?”

“You really don’t like him huh?” Komodo guesses.

“He impersonated Adrien Agreste and tried to kiss me. Of course I don’t like him, but I have to stay professional.” Ladybug says bluntly. Komodo’s hackles rise at her reminder, but she places a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. “Komodo, calm down. You’ll attract an akuma. If he apologizes to me himself about that, I will  _ consider _ accepting his apology, but until then we’re not exactly on good terms.”

Komodo releases a string of curse words, making Ladybug gently whack his shoulder as a reprimand. “Sorry. Uh. Anyway- after that battle with the big plant akuma, Felix mentioned something about having his own plans.”

“For the Miraculous?”

“No- no, see that’s the thing, he doesn’t  _ care  _ about the Miraculous, apparently?” Komodo folds the paper back into a small square and shoves it back into his pocket. He could ask the other questions next time - this was more important. “He wanted something else.”

Ladybug frowns, brow furrowing in thought. “He mentioned to Hawkmoth during the battle against the Punishers trio that he wanted a piece of jewelry as well. But I can’t really think of any other important jewelry other than the Miraculous that could’ve warranted him temporarily working with Hawkmoth, even if it was for his own agenda.”

“He mentioned having one of Adrien’s parents’ wedding bands,” Komodo brings up thoughtfully. “The one on his finger.”

“The one on his-?!” Ladybug’s eyes widen at the revelation. “That’s… that’s very crucial information, Komodo. Why would he… no, it makes sense,” she mutters, and Komodo watches as she steeples her fingers together and rests them on her thighs, face set in a contemplative frown. “You’re one of the newer heroes. He’s more likely to offhandedly mention it to you, and no doubt he’s already plotting something and-”

“Something on your mind, Bugaboo?”

Komodo startles as Chat Noir literally drops in behind them, the black cat hero looming over his dear partner with a curious smile. “Jesus Christ, Chat.”

“And a good evening to you too, Komodo dragon,” Chat greets cheerfully. “What were you two up to tonight? You’re usually not this early.”

“Indeed.”

Komodo nearly falls off the roof as Inari seemingly seems to fade into existence from the shadows cast by the chimney. “ _ Both of you need to  _ **_stop_ ** _ DOING that _ .  **_Please_ ** .”

“Don’t tell me you got scared of something like that,  _ tokage _ ,” Inari leans over him in a similar manner to Chat Noir leaning over Ladybug, and Komodo’s briefly reminded of a similar scenario with Inari’s face hovering over him - except he’d been Nino then, and not Komodo. “Here I thought dragons were meant to be fearless.”

Komodo sticks his tongue out. “I could eat you up, Wonderfox. Don’t forget that.”

“You won’t, however,” Inari says matter-of-factly. “You lack the drive to do so.”

“AHA!” Ladybug suddenly shouts, startling the three of them into looking at her. “Felix Graham de Vanily, I’m  _ onto  _ you, you rat bastard!”

Silence.

Chat Noir immediately bursts into laughter. “Milady, are you in love with one Felix Graham de Vanily?”

“Wha-  _ Chat! _ ” Komodo nearly had to stuff a fist into his mouth to stop his laughter with how  _ offended  _ Ladybug looked at the notion. “You know I love  _ you _ and  _ not  _ him. Besides, Komodo here’s alerted me to the fact that he might be planning something.”

Chat Noir’s ears seem to flatten against his head at the idea. “Planning something?  _ Again? _ ”

_ “Again?”  _ Both Inari and Komodo ask.

“I’ll discuss it with you later, Chat,” Ladybug presses two fingers to her lips before pressing those fingers to Chat’s lips, as if telling him that the conversation is over. “Thank you for telling me this, Komodo, but we need to get back to patrol now. Did you have any more questions?”

Komodo’s fingers play with the edges of the folded paper in his pocket. “Yeah but- I can ask them next time. We gotta patrol.”

“Okay then. Let’s go, Chat Noir!”

“Right behind you, bugaboo!”

* * *

“You’re doing better with your sword,  _ tokage _ .”

“Wonderfox,” Komodo murmurs softly. He doesn’t need to turn around to know that she’s shadowing him as he patrols. “This isn’t your patrol route.”

“I finished early again tonight.”

“Why do you always finish so fast? Do you miss my company that much?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,  _ tokage _ .”

Komodo can’t help the hearty laugh that escapes him as he leans to the side, narrowly avoiding the reed flute aimed at his ear. He spins around on his heel to give Inari a lazy smile as she locks the flute back in its holder on her back. “Missed me, you did.”

“You’re getting faster,” Inari compliments, tapping her index finger on the chin of her fox mask. “Impressive. Have you been taking the sword fighting classes I told you about?”

Komodo shakes his head. He’d… forgotten to, actually. “I just watch sword fighting videos online and hope for the best, honestly.”

“You should really get someone that’s actually a professional to teach you one on one, Komodo,” the fox chastises gently. “You can’t rely on the Internet forever. Experience is a good teacher, but the assistance of another should not be invalidated.”

Komodo groans and flops down on the roof, prompting Inari to loom over him again. “I think I have someone in mind for a teacher after my talk with Ladybug earlier, but I can’t even  _ find  _ her because her identity’s a secret.”

“Oh?” Inari crouches down so that she’s closer to him. “Do share who she is.”

“Whoever Ryuuko is,” Komodo misses the way Inari’s body locks up at the mention of the former Dragon heroine. “She’s apparently the Dragon before me or something? She got retired because Ladybug said Hawkmoth figured out her identity or something during an akuma attack.”

Inari’s voice is a little strained when she asks, “Did you hear her name on a news report?”

“Nah,” Komodo shakes his head. “Civilian mentioned it. Ladybug said she was good at being a Dragon.”

“... oh,” Inari says faintly, and when Komodo turns to glance at her she seemed… hesitant? Shy?  _ Why? _ “That’s… rather lovely. Why are you seeking her out, however?”

“I… I mean, she used to be a Dragon hero, right?” Komodo sits up again and nearly knocks heads with Inari. The fox heroine sits down next to him to catch her balance instead of falling off the roof. “Gah- sorry- and like… that means she’s used this sword too, before me. She’s gotta have some sword experience. You said talk to a professional… whoever Ryuuko is, she’s pretty much a professional in this case, right? And she’s used the Miraculous I’m using. Double qualified!”

“How can you be so sure she’s a professional?” Inari asks warily. “What if she too is still learning?”

“We’re all still learning in life,” Komodo says sagely in a mock serious tone. “We are but young grasshoppers in the field of life, and Hawkmoth is the hawk that picks us all off one by one unless we swarm him like locusts.”

The sound that comes out of Inari’s throat is like a strangled laugh. “ _ Komodo _ .”

“You laughed. It’s automatically funny. I am now confirmed funny.”

“I did  _ not  _ laugh.”

“You did though.”

“Komodo, think about it - you should definitely still think about finding another person to teach you how to use a sword,” Inari presses. “Ryuuko- you don’t know her identity. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

“I know…” Komodo laments. “But… I dunno! I dunno. I wanna ask Ladybug if it’s okay for me to ask Longg or something even though I  _ know  _ he won’t tell. I just- think it’d be… really neat if I could learn from the person before me, no matter how shortly she held the Miraculous.”

Silence.

Komodo glances at Inari, who stands up. “Wonderfox?”

“... I’ll help you.”

“Huh?”

“I’ll help you find Ryuuko,” Inari says decisively, and Komodo swallows as she holds out a hand. “If you really feel that strongly about Ryuuko being your teacher, then I’ll help you find her. We can tell Ladybug together about it, and then we can talk with your kwami about it. If none of them help out, I’ll still help you find a sword fighting teacher regardless.”

Komodo’s eyes are bright. “Are you serious?”

“When am I not seriou-  _ oof,”  _ Inari lets out a huff as the wind is knocked out of her by Komodo suddenly standing up and engulfing her in a grateful hug. Komodo feels her hands awkwardly trying to place themselves on him, and immediately draws back. “... What was that for?”

Komodo’s cheeks are a little pink, but he’s grinning toothily at her. “You have  _ no  _ idea how much that means to me, Inari. Really. Thank you. If we do find her, I’m gonna learn to be the  _ best  _ at sword fighting. And then we can spar, you and me, flute against sword. Or sword to sword or something. You mentioned you can sword fight, after all.”

“... You’re welcome, Komodo,” Inari nods, and then, almost like an afterthought, she bows low to him. He returns the gesture, albeit a little more clumsily. “You really would like to be taught by Ryuuko?”

Komodo nods. “I know you can sword fight, but… I don’t want to take too much of your time. Ryuuko’s the next best thing.”

“... Alright. We’ll find her if it’s the last thing we do.”

“Hell yeah!”


	13. page thirteen: brothers and summer

When Inari slips through his window the next Wednesday night, Nino still doesn't have a twentieth question to ask her. But the thought of thinking up another question is immediately shoved aside, however, because Nino is severely unprepared for Chris to barge in moments later as well, holding a DVD and running around in oversized pajamas.

First thought:  _ why of all days did I forget to lock the door  _ **_today?_ **

Second thought:  _ Shit! I promised Chris we’d watch a movie tonight! Oh, this is  _ **_brilliant_ ** _ , Nino. You absolute  _ **_genius_ ** _.  _ Sarcasm fully intended.

“Nino- Nino- I got the movie from June, we can-”

Chris stops. Inari freezes. Nino is two needles and a haystack away from losing it.

“...” Inari stares Chris down warily, statue still in front of the window.

Chris opens his mouth.

Immediately, as if he’d been Komodo and he’d used Wind Dragon himself, Nino launches himself at the door and shuts it, locking it tight with Chris already inside the room. His younger brother  _ jumps  _ at the action as Inari simultaneously makes quick work of the window, shutting it tight and drawing the curtains closed.

“Whatever you do,” Nino warns, crouching down to meet his brother’s eyes. “Do  _ not,  _ under any circumstances,  _ tell Mom _ about this. I  _ swear  _ to God, Chris.”

Chris’s eyes dart between him and Inari, asking an unspoken question. “Yes, that’s Inari, the Fox heroine. You know her, don’t you?”

“Manon won’t shut up about her and neither will Etta and Ella,” Chris answers, and Nino can’t help but find it a  _ little  _ hilarious that the Cesaire twins loved whoever the current Fox hero was - whether it was Alya, or Inari. “But- why is she  _ here?  _ In  _ your  _ room?” Pause. Chris squints at his older brother. “Ninooooo.”

“Uhhhhh. Yeaaaaah?”

Chris’s face splits into a wide smile. Nino doesn’t particularly like the hint of mischief in it. “Are you actually Inari and using an illusion right now?”

Nino  _ chokes _ , and the sight of it makes Inari actually move slightly, cocking her head to the side. “Wh-  _ no,  _ I’m not an illusion, see?” Nino pats Chris’s shoulder as confirmation before picking up his brother by the armpits and carrying him over to the bed. “There. Would an illusion carry you to bed like this?”

“Nah, guess not,” Chris concedes. He points at Inari. “But that still doesn’t explain her though.”

“Pointing is rude,” Inari says sternly.

Chris sticks his tongue out. “If you’re an illusion, I can be rude all I want.”

“No, you can’t,” Nino scolds, lightly bopping his head with a pillow. “That’s really Inari, Chris, okay? Be polite, she helps Ladybug and Chat Noir save Paris all the time after all.”

The younger Lahiffe sniffs haughtily, crossing his arms. “Nobody’s tellin’ me why Inari’s here.”

“Ugh,  _ Chris, _ ” Nino moans, but he stops when Inari holds up a hand. He looks up as the Fox heroine finally moves closer and leans down, staring intently at Chris through her unchanging fox mask. She doesn’t say anything for a good while, making Chris inch just a little closer to Nino. “Uh, ‘Nari, you’re scaring him.”

Inari cocks her head to the side again, and sits down on the bed. Chris burrows himself into Nino’s side, hands still gripping the DVD. “My apologies if I scared him then. Does he believe I’m real now?”

Nino glances down at Chris, and when he sees Chris stare up at him with wide eyes, he laughs. “Maybe you should hold out a hand, y’know. Let him know you’re real.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“It’d help?” Nino suggests meekly. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Longg peeking out from behind the curtain, watching everything go down.

“... alright,” Inari concedes, and Nino watches as she tentatively holds out a hand to Chris, as though trying to coax out a frightened cat. Or dog. Or… whatever. It was jarring to see Chris so  _ unsure  _ and quiet though as he reaches out to meet her hand with his own - except he pulls back last minute. With an affectionate sigh, Nino gently takes hold of his hand and guides it to Inari’s, effectively sandwiching his younger brother’s tiny hand in between his and Inari’s.

Chris goes starry eyed. “You’re  _ real _ .”

“What made you think I wasn’t?” Inari asks. Nino picks up on the  _ faintest  _ hint of amusement in her tone.

The younger boy grins toothily. “Well. Nino doesn’t have a girlfriend anymore, so he shouldn’t have girls in his room at this hour. Mommy said so.”

Nino prayed to every single god out there to strike him dead where he was sitting at that very second to save him from the embarrassment. Not a single one answered his plea.

“ _ Chris,”  _ Nino stresses as he pulls away. “I am  _ not  _ dating Inari. Inari is my friend, and you don’t date friends.”

Chris squints. “But you dated Alya and you had a crush on Marinette, right? They were both your friends, right?”

“You had a crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” Inari asks, and even with the mask on Nino can  _ hear  _ her eyebrow raise.

Nino can see Longg trembling with laughter behind the curtain as he begs, “Chris, for the love of God, stop spilling all my secrets and tell me what movie you wanted to watch with me tonight. I beg of you. This is  _ not  _ cool.”

“No way! I don’t wanna watch a movie if you’ve got a superhero in your bedroom!” Chris cheers, bouncing up and down on the bed excitedly. “Is being a superhero really as cool as the comic books say they are? How fast can you run? Can you fly? Why are you visiting my big brother? Do you like him? Are you dating? Can I wear your mask?!”

“CHRIS!”

“One question at a time,” Inari interrupts, pulling her legs up to sit cross legged on top of Nino’s bed and across from the Lahiffe brothers. Nino’s immensely grateful for the fact that she’s even  _ humoring  _ the younger boy at the moment as she says, “I won’t answer a single question unless you take a deep breath, straighten up, and say each question one at a time. Do you understand?”

Chris nods eagerly, and adjusts his posture, unconsciously shoving Nino’s arm off of him as he tries to make himself look more ‘mature’ and ‘composed’. The sight makes Nino snicker. “Okay, okay. First question! Can you fly?”

“No, because I am not a bird nor a bee,” Inari answers. “Flying foxes exist, but that’s not the fox I have chosen to be.”

“Lame,” Chris comments, and Nino sweats a little. “Okay, okay, second question! Why are you visiting my brother?”

“...” Inari doesn’t answer for a bit, and despite himself Nino looks up at her, tries to look directly at the eyeholes in her mask to see if he can glimpse her true eyes behind them. It’s a futile attempt. “... I like being around your brother, Chris.”

“Why? He’s pretty boring and normal.”

“He is  _ not,”  _ Inari says sharply, and Nino’s eyes widen as she appends, “Your brother may be a normal civilian, but he is far more interesting than you believe him to be. Remember, your brother was a former superhero chosen by Ladybug herself to assist in akuma attacks. That means there is something special about him and that he was worthy to carry the mantle of a hero even temporarily.”

Chris grimaces. “Oh yeah. Nino was Carapace. Yeaaaaah, I  _ guess  _ you were cool.”

“So I’m not cool now, huh?” Nino asks, leaning on him. “Is that what you’re saying? I’m not your cool older brother now?”

Chris struggles under his weight as he whines, “No you’re  _ not,  _ stop leaning on me, you’re  _ heavyyyyy! _ ”

“Not until you admit I’m actually cool.”

“You rotten big brother, get  _ off,  _ you’re crushing me!”

“Oh,  _ oh,  _ the sheer grief of being called uncool by my younger brother has caused me to have a heart attack! I wither, I die.”

“NINOOOOO, GET OOOOOFF!”

Nino flops over on top of Chris. The younger Lahiffe wails in protest, but Nino only grins victoriously to himself as he glances over at Inari. Despite the fact that her mask was hiding literally every emotion her face could’ve expressed at that moment, he can tell a little based on her current posture that she was…  _ confused? _

“What’s wrong, ‘Nari?” he asks, rolling over to lie flat on his stomach while still looking at her. Chris muffles a yell into the blankets.

Inari tilts her head to the side yet again before admitting, “... Sorry. I’m just… not used to witnessing events like these. Is this what… siblings really do?”

“I mean, there’s probably a  _ lot  _ of siblings who fight a lot more than we do, but- wait. Let me guess, only child, huh?” Nino guesses. At Inari’s subtle nod, he nods sagely in return. “Just like Adrien. My dude’s got  _ no  _ idea how real siblings work. This is, indeed, normal.”

“NO IT’S NOT!” Chris yells into the sheets.

A noise escapes Inari, and Nino is pleased when he realizes it’s something like a snort of laughter coming from his house guest. “I see.”

“Are you gonna say I’m cool now?” Nino asks. He gets slapped in the face by the DVD in Chris’s hands as a response. “Ow! Okay, that’s it, you little-”

Inari slides to the edge of the bed as Nino scoops Chris into his arms and rolls over, tickling his sides. Chris shrieks with laughter as he tries to escape his brother’s hold, until finally both brothers are  _ exhausted,  _ lying spread eagle on top of Nino’s bed with Inari (and Longg) watching them patiently.

“I hate you,” Chris says tiredly.

Nino sits up and looks at him. He smiles when he realizes that Chris is already on the verge of falling asleep. “Love you too, li’l bro. Let’s get you to bed before Mom wonders why no one’s in your room.”

“Nooooo, I wanna watch the movie with yooooou,” Chris whines in a sleepy voice, but he’s too exhausted to fight as Nino goes to pick him up, letting his head rest on his shoulder. “Wanna… watch…”

“We can watch the movie together tomorrow if you want, okay?” Nino answers gently before turning to Inari. She’s still watching him from her perch on his bed as he says, “I’m gonna go tuck Chris into bed. Are you gonna wait for me?”

Inari nods once. Reassured, Nino turns towards the door, struggling to open the door with one hand while still holding onto Chris, but is startled when Inari brushes past him to open the door for him. Her hand brushes against his as lightly as a feather as she opens the door.

“You have your hands full,” Inari explains quietly when he looks at her. “... I’ll wait here.”

Nino nods, and glances at Chris. His brother is already fast asleep in his hold, head nestled on his shoulder, so he can’t speak too loudly. “Thanks, ‘Nari. Really.”

He leaves the room.

* * *

When he comes back to his room, Nino sees Inari staring intently down at something in her hands, and realizes that Chris had dropped the DVD at some point on his bed. Judging from the way she was holding it, she was reading the description on the back of the case intently as he goes to sit on the bed himself, alerting her to his presence.

“Your brother… is he fond of…  _ anime? _ ” Inari asks when Nino goes to sit next to her properly.

“Why do you ask?”

Inari shows him the DVD’s cover, and Nino’s pleasantly surprised to see that the movie isn’t one of the more popular action ones he’d seen Adrien mention every now and then. It’s a more subdued looking movie, with only a young girl and a taller boy walking up a set of stairs. “Huh. Never seen this one. How long is it?”

“About forty five minutes, it seems.” Inari glances down at the DVD, and then at Nino. He’s not sure what to make of her intent gaze, but it does make the back of his neck feel just a little bit hotter. “... Nino.”

“Yeah?”

“... Would you like to watch the movie?”

“Guh- I mean- we could always watch it on my computer, yeah- wait, aren’t you supposed to get home?”

Inari glances at his clock, and then looks back at him. “It’s forty five minutes. I can make it home quickly enough. It… looks interesting.”

Nino looks back down at the cover of the movie’s case, and notices something about the boy in the cover. “Are you sure you’re not just saying that because the guy also has a mask like you do?”

“ _ Nino. _ ”

“Okay, okay- we’ll watch it- I’ll just watch it again with Chris tomorrow,” Nino plucks the DVD from its case and puts it in the CD drive of his CPU as he murmurs, “This really doesn’t seem like Chris’s style at all. Maybe the kids in his class convinced him it was an action movie or something.”

“Perhaps.”

Nino goes to angle his monitor towards the bed before going back to sit next to Inari - but not before gesturing for Inari to get off the bed first. She complies, albeit out of curiosity, as Nino pulls the blanket off and then pats the bed, gesturing for her to sit again. Once she does, he throws the blanket over her and then goes to sit next to her - but not under the blanket as well.

“Why?” Inari asks him.

“It might get cold,” is Nino’s nonchalant response. “And you’re like, basically a guest, right? Gotta be good to guests.”

Inari stares at him. She stares for a long while, until finally the movie begins to start playing. She mechanically turns her head to face the monitor, and Nino’s glad that her attention is taken from him to the movie. He goes to look at the monitor as well.

* * *

**_“At least when I’m around, can you take off your mask every once in a while?”_ **

Nino chances a look at Inari in that moment. Amusingly enough, she doesn’t notice, too enraptured by the movie. It’s… endearing. He didn’t think she’d find such a movie interesting at first, but it had surprisingly captured her attention. Maybe she liked the guy with the mask in the movie. They surely had very similar masks.

**_“That’s fine, but is there a reason?”_ **

Inari leans forward slightly. The change is so minute, the normal person wouldn’t have really  _ noticed _ . But Nino had been watching, and the sight of it makes him smile slightly before remembering that he was potentially missing a huge chunk of the movie.

He looks back at the screen.

At some point during the movie, when the girl hands over the scarf to the masked boy and asks him to wear it during the winter, Nino hears the shifting of the blanket, and is mildly surprised to see that Inari’s moved to throw the other end of the blanket over his shoulders as well. When he turns to face her, her face - that is, her mask - is turned to the screen, but she seems to know he’s looking at her.

“You’re less dressed than I am,” she says as an explanation, but there is something in her tone that leaves Nino wondering. He doesn’t ask, however, turning back to the screen once more.

“Thanks, ‘Nari.”

“...”

* * *

“There are similar festivals in Japan.”

“Huh?”

“Festivals held in the summer, whether by the spirits or not,” Inari murmurs. “I’m not actually sure if there are any like that here in Paris, but when I was much younger, I’d always thought about attending one.”

Nino’s head lolls to the side a little. “You’ve never been to one?”

“No,” Inari admits. “I… never really had the time, or the friends to go with me back then. I was always very busy, so I never really got around to attending the brighter, more playful festivals. My family would attend the more solemn festivals, the ones where the main event was to honor the dead, but… none like what he’s describing.”

Nino nibbles on his lower lip thoughtfully before turning back to the screen. The two main characters were now wandering the festival, having donned traditional garb. “... Well, there aren’t any festivals like the ones in Japan where you have to dress up like that… but in Paris there are lots of festivals in the summer. Mostly music festivals, but I’m pretty sure there’s a bunch of calmer ones just like the festival in the movie. We could go to those instead.”

“... we?”

Nino nods. He doesn’t look at Inari, but somehow he knows she’s glancing at him, despite her attention being on the screen. “Yeah. I mean… only if you want to, though. With me.”

**_“It’s just like going on a date!”_ **

“... I’d like that, Nino,” Inari murmurs, and there’s a vulnerability to her words that makes Nino’s heart skip a beat. “It’s a date, then.”

**_“This_ ** **is** **_a date.”_ **

“... I. Guh. Okay.”

Nino’s cheeks are boiling hot, but he doesn’t understand why he’s so flustered about the idea in the first place. After all, he was just planning on going to a festival with her in the next summer, right? Friends did that.  _ Wait, there’s the issue of her being recognized in her armor as Inari, which is like… putting out a target on our backs, and- _

“You think very loudly, Nino.”

Nino nearly chokes on his own spit, and draws his end of the blanket over his shoulder tighter. “Sorry.”

“If you’re worried about my attire, Trixx told me we can change our costumes as needed, after all. I can… think of something more discreet. I wouldn’t want to put you in danger just because you’re my friend.” Pause. “We can even tie a cloth around our wrists so we do not lose each other in the crowds.”

“Just like in the movie?”

“Yes.”

Nino can’t help the smile that threatens to overwhelm his face. “Y… yeah, I’d… I’d really like that, actually. It’ll be great, I promise. But it’s still a long time before the summer, so you might change your mind about it.”

“... We’ll see if I do,” is all Inari says before focusing on the movie again.

Nino does the same.

* * *

It’s fairly late when it occurs to Nino that the movie’s finally ended, because the credits are rolling and Inari is already moving towards the window again. It’s dark in the room, given that he’d turned off the lights and the curtains had been drawn over his windows to hide Inari’s presence that night, but somehow the very thin sliver of moonlight that peeks in between the curtains is enough to lead her to it.

Nino draws the blanket’s two ends over his shoulders and slides off the bed as well, following after her barefoot. He’s sleepy, but it was polite to see off guests before giving in to exhaustion. His mother had taught him that, after all. “Going home?”

“After I talk with Ladybug,” Inari says softly. “I need to ask her a few things.”

_ Hah. A lot like me the other day.  _ “Oh. Okay then. Uh, just get home afterwards soon then, okay?” Beat. “Be safe and all that jazz, y’know?”

“... I will,” Inari says, after a heartbeat passes. Nino can only see her silhouette in the darkness, backlit by the thin strip of moonlight, but he feels that she is smiling at him behind her mask.

And then she lifts that mask, and puts it on his face.

Nino doesn’t see anything still beyond her silhouette through the eyeholes in her mask, but he’s caught off guard by Inari leaning forward and taking his hands in her own. She pulls them up to her face, and Nino does little to fight back as she lets his hands trace over… a cloth? It was… fabric on her face. That felt like fabric. Of a similar texture to the gloves she wore, even.

“There’s cloth under your mask…” Nino says in wonderment, voice soft. “This is your other mask then.”

Inari’s hands guide his own across where her eyes should be. Through the cloth, Nino feels lashes prickling at his fingertips and closed eyelids. “... no, not a mask. Just cloth, under that mask, to hide your eyes.” Pause. “Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“You… don’t?”

“The Miraculous will manifest what the wielder desires. I don’t… know myself enough to be able to say why this is so, but it is so.” Inari lets go of his hands, and unconsciously his hands seem to chase after hers as they fall from her face. “... Thank you for humoring me tonight, Nino. Really.”

Nino shakes his head. “You’re my friend. We don’t get to hang out in public or often in private, so I gotta do everything I can when we do hang out to make you feel comfy, right?”

“... That’s very kind of you, Nino. Truly. You’re very sweet.”

Why does that make his heart skip a beat? Why?

Inari reaches forward to pluck the mask off his face, and puts it back on her own. Nino feels like his cheeks are burning as he moves forward and opens the curtains and the window for her, and with only one final glance, she begins to leave.

“Wait!”

Inari stops again.

Nino swallows. “I finally know what my last question is. My twentieth question.”

Inari waits.

“Inari… when you said it was a date, is it like a friend date?”  _ WHY ARE YOU ASKING THIS?! WHY?! _ “It’s a friend date, right?”

Inari considers him for a moment, cocking her head to the side. And then slowly, ever so slowly, she turns her head to the left, then to the right.

A single shake of the head.

She’s gone in a flash before Nino can even process it.

Nino doesn’t go to sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the movie they're watching is hotarubi no mori e, aka "into the forest of fireflies' light", because i have zero self control


	14. page fourteen: bitten by the bug

When Nino enters class the next day, he’s baffled to realize that a chunk of them are absent.

To be more precise, at least  _ three  _ of the girls were absent - namely Alix, Marinette, and Chloe. Juleka too looked to be absent, judging from Rose’s worried glances towards her seat next to Kim. Nathaniel looked mildly perturbed, but Sabrina seemed rather nonchalant at the absence of one of the louder blondes of the class. And Adrien- Adrien wasn’t there?

_ BANG! _

“Sorry we’re late!”

The door slams open on Nino - or almost does. Longg, however, is swift as lightning - and even faster when it comes to pulling on Nino’s hair to get his attention in an instant. The pain of his hair being pulled at propels Nino forward and out of the slamming door just in time, and when he turns around he sees Adrien panting heavily and Felix looking over his shoulder at everyone else before looking at his cousin with mild disdain.

Adrien stares at everyone else in the classroom as well, eyes wide. “Wait- we’re not-?”

“I  _ told  _ you we weren’t late, but for some godforsaken reason you refused to listen to me and decided to emulate your girlfriend,” Felix steps around Adrien before climbing the steps to their desk, leaving his cousin to follow and then sink into his seat with a relieved groan. Nino reaches below his cap to scratch at his hair - and lightly pat Longg on the head with a finger - before taking a seat up front. With Alix, Marinette,  _ and  _ Chloe gone, Nino was essentially all alone in the first two rows to the right of the room.

He turns to Mylene on the left side of the room across from him. She looks up as he says, “Yo, dudette. Seen Marinette and the others anywhere today?”

“If I’m guessing right, they’re probably out sick. My dad says there’s a bug going around and he wouldn’t be surprised if a few of us got hit,” Mylene offers, smiling at him apologetically. “At least, that’s all I can give you, Nino. Alya, what do you think?”

Nino leans a little to the right on his arm to glance at Alya. The girl is engrossed with outlining something on her notebook while multitasking with something on her phone - no doubt Ladyblog related - when Mylene taps on her shoulder, and she glances up with a raise of an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“What do you think is the reason the others are absent today?” Mylene asks patiently. Nino’s fairly surprised to see that Alya’s more receptive to the minor interruption than she would have been last school year. “Nino’s asking.”

He sees Alya’s eyes flicker towards him briefly, and something like mild surprise crosses both their faces, because the connection doesn’t sear through them like a red hot poker. It’s just… a look. It feels normal. It doesn’t hurt or ache - at least, on Nino’s end. He can only guess that the same goes for Alya, because she’s more thoughtful than hurt, and she’d never really been one to be able to hide what she was feeling.

“Well... “ Alya glances at the seat next to Nino, and the ones behind him, and all the way in the back to where she knows Juleka sits next to Kim, before turning to both Mylene and Nino. “I’m guessing they’re sick like Mylene said, or something’s up. Sunshine over there doesn’t seem  _ too  _ bothered by the fact Marinette’s missing, so it’s probably not something  _ too  _ bad.”

Nino’s…  _ relieved,  _ in a sense. This is the first real sort of conversation they’re having post-breakup, post-Rena Rage, post-Lila, and it’s going more smoothly than he’d thought it would. Sure, Mylene had initiated it, but so far, so good. It was… nice to be able to tread a little less lightly around Alya. He’d been afraid to really talk to her after that whole thing, and had decided that Alya maybe wouldn’t want to talk to him. Maybe they wouldn’t be amicable exes, but if they could talk like this, maybe things would really turn out alright.

Things had been turning out pretty alright overall for Nino Lahiffe. He hoped this was one of them.

“Nathaniel kinda looks concerned though,” Nino points out, and as if having heard his name Nathaniel glances down at them. The poor guy’s worrying his lower lip with his teeth as Nino asks, “Nath, dude, where’s Chloe?”

Sabrina is the one who answers in his stead, apparently listening in. “Chloe’s out sick today. She texted me this morning that she wasn’t feeling too well, and told me to probably not count on her coming to school today.”

“She told me she was fine this morning over call,” Nathaniel argues. Sabrina raises an eyebrow at that, and he groans, palming his face. “... and when Chloe says she’s fine, there’s a high chance she isn’t especially if she’s sick and bedridden. Christ. Alright.”

“Plus she probably didn’t want to worry you, Aurore, and Marc,” Sabrina soothes. “She only told me because I’m her best friend. You three should come with me later to visit her! She’ll like that - and  _ ooh,  _ we can bring her ice cream and the homework for today and maybe we can ask her butler if she needs any of us to run and get medicine if she needs any!”

Nathaniel ponders the thought as Rose pipes up, “Juleka didn’t mention being sick… I hope she’s okay! Marinette and Alix too!”

“Wait, Alix is absent?” Kim  _ finally  _ seems to overhear the conversation and looks over next to Nino. “Hey, what gives?! We had a dare to do today! She  _ can’t  _ be skipping out on it, we did a pinkie swear on it!”

“And a spit exchange,” Max says dryly.

Felix absolutely recoils at the sentence. “ _ Excuse me?” _

“You’ve never spat in your hand and shaken someone’s hand before?” Kim asks him. “Man, where have you been  _ living  _ all your life? Under a rock?”

“Among civilized people, apparently,” Felix deadpans. “That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard of in my entire life next to Hawkmoth.”

Before Kim can barrel over and headbutt the Graham de Vanily heir, Max speaks up loudly and holds up a hand. “If I may interrupt, statistically there are worse things than having to spit in one’s hand, disregarding Hawkmoth’s entire existence. One such experience would include drowning in a pit of slime or anything of similar viscosity, or perhaps experiencing ants crawling all over your body while you’re unable to move, or even-”

“Max,” Ivan rumbles threateningly, and when Nino looks he sees Mylene keeping a  _ very  _ convincing poker face next to Alya - though the rattling of the beads on her bracelet give away her discomfort. “We get the point.”

Max clears his throat uncomfortably. “Right. Erm. So, with that in mind… perhaps you might reconsider your words? I agree that it’s not exactly pleasant-”

“What a relief, you actually have a sensible brain cell in there,” Felix mutters, but he grunts when Adrien socks his stomach at his words. “Adrien.”

“Felix,” Adrien shoots back, frowning, and Nino feels pride at the fact that Adrien was actually standing up to his cousin’s bullshit. He’d  _ definitely  _ learned from his experience with the Chloe of before. “There’s such a thing as taking it too far. Sit down.” 

Felix scowls, but complies, deciding to content himself with pulling out a novel he’d tucked into his bag. Just then, Nino feels his phone vibrate, and he pulls it out to see that a message had come in.

**_From: mimi_ **

_ Are you busy? _

Nino’s eyes light up despite himself, and he quickly taps out a reply. This does not go unnoticed by the others, who notice his change in mood. He doesn’t notice their reactions, however, as he settles into the conversation.

**_nah_ **

**_class hasnt started yet and ms bustier still isnt here_ **

**_as is half the class apparently_ **

_ Strange. A good portion of my class is missing as well, actually. _

**_really???_ **

_ One of my classmates suggested a bug going around. _

**_mylene mentioned that too actually_ **

**_you heard of it???_ **

_ Not really. I feel fine, for the most part. I hope it hasn’t hit you. _

**_as if i could get taken down by a bug_ **

**_well_ **

**_unless it was ladybug ig shes like super strong and all_ **

_ I’m inclined to agree. _

_ I’m glad to see you’re not ill. _

Nino’s cheeks warm slightly. He can’t stop the grin that crosses his face - nor is he able to hide it from the rest of the class.

**_u in class???_ **

_ Yes, or rather, I’m in the classroom with the classmates that aren’t ill. Our teacher’s missing as well. I’m suspecting the bug has hit him as well. _

_ Or an akuma, perhaps. _

**_i hope the FUCK NOT_ **

**_the last time we had a sickness related akuma in paris chris was blowing snot bubbles everywhere and i was almost gonna have to clean it up_ **

**_thank god for ladybugs miraculous cure_ **

_ Was that the… Uncommon Cold? _

_ I absolutely hate that name. Hawkmoth is going absolutely  _ **_nowhere_ ** _ with the naming schemes nowadays. Or akumatization ideas. _

**_you think you could do better???_ **

_ Marinette could do better as well. Anyone could do better than him right now in terms of aesthetic, powerset, and naming schemes.  _

**_i mean_ **

**_this is the guy who akumatized a baby like 945809345703475 times_ **

_ It’s definitely not been that many times. _

**_yeah but it sure feels like that amount_ **

_ Fair. _

Kagami stops typing for a bit, making Nino wonder if her teacher had arrived already, when she sends another message.

_ Nino, can I ask you a question? _

**_shoot_ **

_ Have you ever heard of the Miraculous holder named Ryuuko? _

Nino’s blood chills. He doesn’t respond for a few minutes.  _ How would Kagami know of Ryuuko? _

_ Nino? _

_ I apologize if that message was out of the blue. _

_ Mother mentioned her, and since you’re the only one besides Chloe that I know of that used to wield a Miraculous, I was wondering if you knew her, or of her. _

**_nah its cool_ **

**_just got surprised_ **

**_yeah i heard of her_ **

**_why???_ **

_ Like I said, Mother mentioned her to me once over dinner. _

_ Do you recall me being rescued by Komodo during the Porcelady incident? _

**_yeah you mentioned that_ **

**_still the creepiest thing ive ever seen but wcyd_ **

**_what about it_ **

_ Mother mentioned her existence and asked if I knew anything about why Ryuuko was retired and Komodo had taken her place. _

Tomoe  _ had _ mentioned Ryuuko to Komodo, her successor - Nino remembered that much from the incident. Said mention had led to him asking Ladybug about it and deciding that he’d ask her help on swordfighting, after all - well, that is, if he could  _ find  _ her in the first place. Ladybug and the Guardian were frighteningly tight-lipped about identities where they could. He didn’t even know who was behind the masks of his current teammates - and maybe that was for the best.

**_what did you tell her tho_ **

_ I told her I didn’t know anything about it, but theorized that Ryuuko’s identity must have been compromised during the battle with Ikari Gozen. _

_ She seemed… _

**_seemed what_ **

_ Perturbed, I think is the word. _

_ Either way, she asked me if there was any way I could contact any of the heroes, but specifically Komodo. _

_ I mentioned that there was always contacting Ladybug through either Bug’s Eye View or the Ladyblog, but she said it was too obvious a contact. _

Nino’s brow furrows. What would Tomoe Tsurugi want with one of the heroes of Paris?

_ She’s right on it being too dangerous a way of contact, but that was the only direct method I was aware of. _

_ I considered asking you just this morning, since you did hold the Turtle Miraculous at one point. _

_ Maybe you could contact Bastille? _

**_mimi im flattered that you think i have a direct contact line to the heroes via being a retired hero but i dont really talk to any of the heroes besides when i get saved by them_ **

**_well_ **

**_uh_ **

_ Uh? _

Nino hesitates just a little.  _ Hawkmoth can’t read texts, can he? He’s not  _ **_that_ ** _ powerful. But…  _ he nibbles on his lower lip.  _ I don’t know... _

**_mimi i trust you with my entire fucking life jsyk_ **

_ I trust you with mine as well, Nino, but what does that have to do with anything? _

**_i think i can get in contact with your dragon boy_ **

**_just_ **

**_it might take a while but i think i can contact him_ **

Kagami doesn’t answer for a good few minutes. Nino’s anxiety spikes through his entire ribcage at the three dots of typing at the bottom of the messenger app, and it must’ve shown on his face because Mylene actually glances over at him and asks, “Nino? Are you alright?”

“Easy breezy,” Nino replies, voice only a  _ little  _ shaky. But he’ll never admit that.

_ Really? _

It took her five minutes to respond with one word? Nino had been absolutely  _ terrified  _ she’d send a whole paragraph. He chokes back his spit before typing in as composed a manner as he can.

**_yeah_ **

**_hes who your mom wants to talk to right_ **

_ Yes… I believe so. _

_ She seemed more inclined towards talking to him than either Ladybug or Chat Noir, rather. _

_ I can only assume it’s because the other heroes are more inconspicuous when it comes to running around and visiting homes. _

**_you sure its not cause hes cool_ **

The instant he presses send on that message, Nino decides he wants to melt into the ground and never return to solid form. Water Dragon, Water Dragon, fucking melt him already into water and never let him reform again. Internally he’s already banging his head on the wall.  _ Why did you fucking SEND THAT, you IDIOT- _

_ I’d wager he’s more on the hot side. _

Nino’s brain short circuits.

“Nino?” Adrien asks worriedly from the back as his best friend promptly begins to choke. “Nino, are you okay?!”

Nino only gurgles, face redder than a tomato as Ms. Bustier finally enters the classroom and apologizes for being late. She mentions something about there being a bug going around and her having had to visit one of the other classes to delegate work to them before going to their class, but Nino doesn’t hear any of that.

His entire face is red until the end of class.

* * *

When Kagami meets up with the rest of them for lunch later, Nino’s face is still red. When she asks if he’s okay, he only wheezes in response.

“I don’t even know what’s going on with him,” Adrien admits when she turns to him. “One minute he’s texting someone, the next minute he’s short circuiting like he’s a robot and somebody just threw him into the Seine.”

Kagami’s brow furrows in thought.

Nino doesn’t even  _ try  _ to articulate what’s on his brain right now. He’s afraid that he’ll end up saying something he’ll regret. He doesn’t even know  _ why  _ he’s so embarrassed by the fact that one of his closest friends just called his superhero alter ego hot. Marinette had said Komodo was handsome -  _ Adrien  _ had said he was pretty good-looking. Why the hell was this so different?

“He might be catching the bug that got everyone else today,” Sabrina offers.

“Then I’ll take him to the nurse’s office,” Kagami decides, and raises the back of her hand to Nino’s forehead just to be sure. “... He’s definitely hot. Excuse us for a moment.”

Nino expires for the next five minutes as Kagami firmly pulls him back into the clinic to get checked for a fever.

* * *

Ms. Flamel declares him feverless. Kagami is absolutely baffled.

Nino just wants to go home already and scream.

* * *

“Your self control is most admirable, Nino,” Longg laughs when Kagami leaves with Adrien after they bring Nino home. His holder is  _ still  _ as red as he is as he dazedly wanders back into his room and closes the door, dropping his bag on the floor before collapsing on the bed. “Many people would have already fallen in love on the spot at such a bold declaration of appreciation for your physical appearance.”

Nino throws a pillow at him. “Longg, for the love of God, shut up.”

“In a moment, hatchling. I must bask in pride over the amount of self control you exercised today over the fact that this lovely young lady just called you hot.”

“ _ LONGG I WILL  _ **_CHOKE_ ** _ YOU.” _

Longg only laughs at his misery and claps his little stubby paws together. Traitor.

Nino’s ears burn for the rest of the night.


	15. page fifteen: fire and ice

He was an idiot. A fool, a hooligan, a buffoon. A buffooligan.

Perching yet again on the rooftop of the building across from where the Tsurugis lived, Komodo mentally whacks himself over the head repeatedly with the blunt end of his sword like he was the mole in a Whack-A-Mole machine and his blade was the mallet. It had been a _stupid_ idea, a _stupid_ offer, and a _dangerous_ thing altogether that could most definitely get his Miraculous taken away if he wasn’t extremely careful with how he handled this, but he had to own up to his dumbassery at some point.

Longg had suggested that he wait until Inari dropped by again to ask her to pass a message along to Komodo - _‘a perfectly acceptable and wise way of going about this hole you’ve dug for yourself,’_ as he’d so kindly put it - , but Nino didn’t know if he could play the waiting game and wait for a whole two days. Or was it three? Something along those lines.

His kwami hadn’t really been surprised at his impatience for some reason, but _he’d_ definitely been perplexed at his own unwillingness to wait. He wasn’t the sort to be impatient - he was a _very_ patient person by default. That hadn’t changed - he knew that for sure.

_Or perhaps you have changed,_ Longg’s voice offers in his head, a ghost of the actual conversation they’d had before he’d swung out for patrol that night. _It’s not unheard of for people to change, after all. We kwami do not change in very large ways, for we are embodiments of concepts and feelings that have spanned centuries, but humans time and time again have proven themselves capable of changes big and small._

Komodo bites his lower lip at the idea - and curses softly when he realizes he’s punctured his lip yet again with his own tooth. He’d stared at himself in a mirror many a time both as Komodo and Nino, examining his sharper teeth with mixed emotions. Nino’s canines had been a little sharper than normal, but it wasn’t too much cause for concern, especially after Longg had told him that it was natural for someone who’d held a Miraculous for a considerable amount of time to unconsciously take on some characteristics of the Miraculous they possessed.

_Chat Noir, for instance, will be very fond of spots of sunlight because of Plagg’s influence, as will Nightshade thanks to Roarr,_ Longg had explained to him once. _If you see Kaiser Biene attempting to take on a leaderly role, by force or not, unconsciously or not, it’s Pollen’s will as a worker bee to have a ‘queen bee’ to follow - or in his case, a king bee._

Nino had snorted at that. _No wonder Chloe was Queen Bee. It’s literally in the name._

_Perhaps that was what allowed Pollen to pass through her hands besides the mishap of Ladybug herself._

“You certainly love sitting here a lot.”

Had Komodo been a fire breathing dragon sort of dragon, Bastille would have already become Kentucky Fried Leatherback. However, he was only a komodo dragon, and thus his surprise had been expressed in the form of a panicked hiss and a baring of teeth. “ _Bastille!”_

“Easy there,” Bastille laughs, and despite himself Komodo is tense as the new Turtle - his successor - leans against one of the chimneys nearby, eyes on him. “If I startled you, sorry about that.”

“This isn’t your patrol route,” Komodo points out, the hint of an accusatory note entering his tone.

Bastille shrugs. Eyes like onyxes are half-lidded with some strange all-knowing look as he asks, “Any particular reason why you’re just watching the Tsurugi house?”

“No.”

Bastille’s head tilts slightly downward and to his right. Komodo knows it’s his ‘bullshit’ head tilt.

“Okay, well-” and here Komodo fumbles slightly, unsure of how to phrase his fuckery. “- uh. Nino talked to me recently.”

Great. Open things up with your civilian identity. That’s _sure_ to go over well. Let your teammates know that you’re getting real friendly with a civilian. This was a _wonderful_ idea.

Bastille doesn’t seem in the _slightest_ bit perturbed however - rather, he seemed… _amused?_ “Really now? Nino Lahiffe, the Carapace of Paris? That’s odd news, isn’t it?”

“Well- well, he and I are cool with each other!” Komodo defends, feeling melancholic at the memory of having had to say goodbye to Wayzz. It hadn’t been that long ago, and yet it had felt like a distant memory of five years ago to Komodo, with how he’d soon acclimated to being Komodo, the current Dragon holder. “Besides, he owed me a favor.”

Bastille looked like the cat who’d gotten into the cream - or the turtle who’d gotten into the tasty fruit. It was such an odd look on his normally placid face. “A favor, you say?”

“Why are you so curious about what I do with him anyway? Got a crush on him or something?” Komodo asks heatedly, and he can’t deny that he feels _slightly_ offended when Bastille laughs heartily at the idea. “Hey! What’s so funny about that?!”

The current holder of the Turtle only smiles. It’s a familiar smile this time, but Komodo can’t place where he’s seen it before. “Sorry. As cool as Nino is, he’s not my type, nor is he available. He’s off-limits, and I wouldn’t dream of messing with the person he’s with. Surely he’s told you that if you two are friends.”

“Wh- Nino’s single?” What in the hell was he _talking_ about?

“Hm. I could have sworn he was seeing someone. I must’ve been misinformed,” Bastille shrugs again, but there is a glint in his eye that tells Komodo he knows more than he’s letting on. He tucks that information away for the moment as Bastille asks again, “Anyway. What’s this favor?”

“Shouldn’t you be back on your actual patrol route?”

“I’ll leave once I know what you’re up to.”

Komodo exhales through his teeth. “Fine. Stubborn turtle. Nino told me that he’d offered to get in contact with me to Kagami Tsurugi, because her mother needed to contact someone.” It was _still_ weird to refer to himself as someone else entirely, but he couldn’t let up.

“I see. Did she say why?”

“Something about her mother wanting to contact any of the heroes, actually,” Komodo shrugs helplessly. “But she seemed to be specifically looking for me, according to Kagami.”

Bastille hums, fingers drumming against his arms thoughtfully as his arms are crossed. “I see. Then you should probably get down there already. You wouldn’t want to disappoint either Tsurugi, after all. Or let Nino down.”

“I _will_ ,” Komodo begins. “... right when I figure out how I’m gonna do this without alerting Hawkmoth to the fact that I’m visiting them in the first place.”

Bastille smiles. “Climb that tree. You’ve done it before, haven’t you?”

“Well, yeah but-” Komodo _freezes_. “How. Do you know that.”

Bastille’s eyes flicker upward, and Komodo follows his gaze to see a familiar figure _buzzing_ around a few yards above their heads. His lips draw back in a snarl when he realizes exactly _who’d_ tipped off the Turtle to what he’d done before - but he pauses when Bastille puts a hand on his shoulder. When had he moved from the chimney?

“Don’t blame Kaiser for anything - he’d been on his way home when he saw you back then,” Bastille requests quietly. “There’s nothing wrong with what you did, Komodo. As long as you’re careful and make sure not to endanger them, you can visit Kagami as Komodo whenever you’re able to.”

Komodo’s exhale leaves through his nostrils, and he’s at least fifty percent certain they leave in the form of clouds of steam. “... okay. Okay.”

“You going down now?”

“... yeah.”

“I’ll be heading home then. Good luck with Kagami, Nino,” Bastille says, and before Komodo can react the Turtle’s already tossing his shield over and coasting along the rooftops of Paris, presumably on his way home. The buzzing above head follows a similar path - Kaiser too must already be heading home.

Komodo turns his gaze to the Tsurugi household, and looks at the window that he’s learned by now belongs to Kagami. The lights are on but dimmed down, and the window is closed, curtains shut. He wonders what she’s doing up so late at this hour. _Probably doing homework. Though if she’s anything like Adrien, she actually sleeps on time for the most part._

Briefly he wonders if she’s messaging him - like _Nino_ him, not Komodo him - on the messenger app. He wouldn’t be able to check at the moment since his real phone was at home, but he hopes she both is and isn’t. Is, because that meant she was messaging him. Isn’t, because he didn’t want to disappoint her by being unresponsive. He liked talking to Kagami.

The thought of her text from the other day colors his cheeks as red as the gems on his Miraculous. She’d called him - well, called _Komodo_ \- _hot_ . Sure she didn’t know she was actually talking to the civilian side of Komodo, but that was basically like calling him hot. Which he didn’t know how to feel. And he was _pretty sure_ Kagami didn’t exactly just call people ‘hot’ outright. Maybe he’d misread it. Maybe.

Why was he _overthinking this?!_

Komodo buries his face in his hands briefly, groaning in frustration. What a disaster he was. He should just get this over with already.

With the grace of a pelican in stilettos he leaps over and lands on top of the gate to the Tsurugi home, surveying a little closer if Kagami was truly awake. He could barely glimpse a shadow moving around in quick, swift movements, and deduces that Kagami must have been practicing fencing stances in her bedroom.

_Right. Mimi can use swords, technically._

Maybe it’d be easier to learn swordfighting from her?

As if she could hear his thoughts, the shadow that was Kagami stops moving inside her room. He watches as her silhouette glances to the right, as if talking to someone, before it grows as it approaches the curtains, and Komodo’s given barely enough time to react before her hands part the curtains, brushing them aside and revealing her form to him.

There’s something inherently… romantic about the way her form is dimly backlit by her bedroom’s lights, what little light of the moon making its way through the leaves of the tree nearest to her window and speckling her face with patches of pale light. Her eyes, sharp and narrowed in wary curiosity, seem to glint like a sword’s edge as she sweeps her gaze all over the grounds of the Tsurugi home, looking for something. When they land on Komodo, however, the steely glint seems to fade entirely, and Komodo witnesses her sharp eyes soften at the sight of him, the glint now more akin to the glitter of gemstones.

Komodo’s stomach churns, but not unpleasantly.

With more care this time, he finds himself back on the branch closest to her window as she steps a little to the side, allowing him to land carefully on her railing. Surely enough, her room’s lights are at its dimmest setting, and privately he wishes his room had that sort of option. It’d be nice to have dim lighting every now and then instead of just light and darkness. When he looks to Kagami, half of her face is lit with warm orange light from her room, while the other is lit with the cooler blues reflected by the moon.

Like fire and ice. Strangely appropriate, given that she was apparently known as the Ice Queen.

_Lovely,_ his brain murmurs to him. He isn’t inclined to disagree in the slightest. Kagami _is_ lovely - but such a romantic term seemed like something Adrien would say about Marinette more, really. It wasn’t Komodo’s style.

But she _was_ lovely.

“Heard you were looking for me?” Komodo begins, and immediately he wishes he’d just cut his tongue off already.

Kagami nods. “I apologize if this was out of the way for you, Komodo. Nino said he knew how to contact you, and I didn’t know how else to do so.”

“It’s chill, really,” Komodo holds up a hand to stop her. “But I’m guessing your mom’s asleep now, huh?” At her nod, he asks, “I can always visit again when she _is_ awake, before one of my patrols. But uh, if she’s asleep, why are _you_ awake?”

_Why_ did he ask that? _Why?_

Kagami, thankfully, doesn’t think too much of it as she glances sideways, and when Komodo goes to look he sees her rapier on her bed, resting against the sheets of patterned red blossoms against black. “Refreshing myself on fencing stances is something I do every night before going to bed. A sharp mind begets a sharp body. Mother does the same thing before she goes to bed.”

“That’s cool,” Komodo says. “You swordfight, huh?”

Kagami’s mouth seems to quirk up slightly in a smile. “Fencing is not exactly swordfighting, but the concept is there, I suppose, so yes. You swordfight too?”

“I- oh-” Right. He had a sword. Yeah. “Well- I wouldn’t call myself a _swordsman,_ but I do have a sword. And I’m a man. Which kind of makes me a sword man, I guess? Wait-”

Kagami smiles. The sight makes his stomach flutter slightly, but he still doesn’t understand why. “Not much of a wordsman either, are you?”

“A w- _oh,_ oh, that’s _clever._ That’s _clever,_ ma’am.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Ma’am?”

“I. Uh. You don’t like it?” _Stupid. She probably doesn’t, that’s why she’s asking about it. You should probably stop._

Kagami raises her fingertips to her lips and taps against them thoughtfully. Komodo pretends he hadn’t been following the movement of her hand to her mouth that time by going back to meet her gaze as she says, “Usually ma’am is reserved for my mother.”

“Oh. So you don’t like it.”

“No, it’s… just strange. I’m not used to being referred to as ma’am, especially by one of Paris’s heroes. You can call me ma’am if you want. Or you can call me by my name instead. I won’t mind.”

Komodo grins, and he feels himself relax a little more around her. He shouldn’t even have been afraid, really - this was Mimi, after all. He knew Mimi - and while she didn’t know Komodo, he’d be more than willing to get to know her as Komodo as well. It’d be like meeting her all over again. He just needed to… be a little careful, that was all. Hawkmoth could be watching.

“Komodo,” Kagami begins, and he looks back up at her eyes. Holding her gaze is strangely electrifying, and despite himself he’s unable to really look away as she asks, “If you’re able to, my mother and I have nothing to do on Thursday evening. You could drop by then around seven.”

“Like this?”

“I think my mother would appreciate it if you used the front door.”

_The front door, huh?_ Komodo glances down past Kagami’s railing, and stares at the front door. Suddenly it looked a lot more intimidating. “So like… just drop in and knock?”

“That’d be a good idea, yes.” Kagami yawns slightly. “Sorry. I suppose I’m more tired than I thought I was. I should get to bed.”

Komodo nods, and moves to go back on the branch he’d climbed on. “So… this Thursday evening, seven?”

“It’s a date,” Kagami says, and for some reason the words vaguely remind Komodo of something - but the thought dissipates itself as the girl gives him a parting smile and a bow of gratitude before retreating back inside her room-

“Wait!”

Kagami pauses, glancing back at him.

“Nino mentioned-” _ARE YOU SERIOUSLY ASKING THIS?!_ “- Nino mentioned you called me hot.”

Kagami’s eyes widen. “I… did?”

“Apparently so. You think I’m hot?” Inside his head, Nino was already bashing Komodo over the head with a chair. And a table. And a miniature recreation of the Eiffel Tower, fifty times over, for being an absolute idiot who could not for the love of God keep his mouth shut. The fact that Nino and Komodo existed separately in his head now was… mildly concerning.

Maybe he had a problem.

Kagami’s brow furrows in consternation. “I don’t… recall… hold on for a moment.” She pulls out her phone and scrolls for a bit before her eyes widen. Her cheeks soon follow, burning red ever so subtly. He thinks it’s a rather pretty look on her.

(While he thinks that, the Nino in his head has already stomped Komodo to death with his sneakers.)

“I’d forgotten I’d said that to him,” Kagami mutters. “It was an unfinished thought - I was referring to how you were a dragon and how most dragons breathed fire, hence why you were hot.”

Komodo stops. “... So you don’t think I’m hot.”

“...” Kagami seems to appraise him for a moment before admitting, “You _are_ hot, yes. But my opinion is to be _our_ secret, do you understand?”

Komodo, despite himself, colors a bright red and grins a fanged grin. He’s… giddy, all things considered. He doesn’t know why it mattered so much that Kagami thought he looked good, anyway - but it sure made him giddy. “Nino knows.”

“He doesn’t know for sure,” Kagami corrects. “And I trust you enough to believe that you won’t tell him.”

“You’re scared I’ll tell him you think I’m _hot?”_ He can’t even stop the incredulous tone creeping into his voice at that.

Kagami scowls slightly, but the moon’s glow only makes it look more like a petulant frown. “I’ll skewer you and pin you to this tree if you tell him, Komodo. Swear to me that you won’t.”

“Alright, alright,” and here Komodo crosses a finger over his heart. “I won’t, I swear to you. But hey, good to know _someone_ thinks I look good.”

She snorts lightly, but she’s smiling at him. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have inflated your ego. Soon you’ll be able to fly just like Kaiser Biene by the powers of your large ego alone.”

“Wh- are you- oh, that’s a joke. Ha ha, very funny. I do _not_ have a large ego. All that ego’s with Kaiser, thanks.”

Kagami rolls her eyes before yawning yet again, louder this time. This time, Komodo allows himself to step closer and gently shoo her back inside her room, but not entering it fully. Just peeking his head in a little. One day he’d get to see her room as Nino and in daylight, he hopes.

“Goodnight, Komodo,” Kagami murmurs as she settles under her blanket, her rapier already tucked back inside its bag next to her bed. “I’ll… see you on Thursday.”

“Goodnight.”

He draws the curtains shut for her, and backs away, climbing back up her railing. With one final glance towards her room, he turns around and leaps back onto the tree, then onto the gate, before leaping back up onto the roof across the street and running back home.

And then, at the very last minute, it suddenly occurs to Komodo on the way home that Bastille had referred to him as Nino before leaving, and his knees nearly buckle under him.

What the fuck.

What the _fuck?_

_Does… does Bastille know it’s me?_


	16. page sixteen: dragon girl

This was bad. And by bad, Nino meant  _ absolutely  _ **_fucked_ ** _. _

That Monday, they’d been at Juleka’s advance birthday “party” - in quotation marks due to the fact that it was less of a party and more of a small, manageable celebration, and because it was being celebrated a whole week before Juleka’s actual birthday. Juleka wasn’t exactly the kind of person who enjoyed  _ extremely  _ loud parties with lots of people, but she  _ was  _ fond of small get-togethers with a small group of friends - party size usually being that of her class plus a few other people. Marinette, Rose, and Adrien had taken it upon themselves to enlist Luka in their party planning shenanigans, and Nino really had to hand it to the guy - he was  _ extremely  _ chill with suddenly being dragged into planning a small party for his sister.

Then again, Luka absolutely adored Juleka. And really, who wouldn’t?

The entire class had been invited to Juleka’s birthday - even grouchy Felix, though that wasn’t much of a surprise given that Rose was a lot more forgiving…  _ and  _ he’d been on a pretty good streak of good behavior recently. Adrien had been  _ ecstatic  _ that more and more of the class had been warming up to his cousin, and though he’d never really outright admit it, Nino was partially certain Felix too was beginning to warm up to their class.

(The most blatant example he would’ve used would have been Felix jabbing an upperclassman in a pressure point on the neck after the upperclassman had been seen harassing Marc and Nathaniel, but that was something only he, Adrien, Marc, and Nathaniel had been witness to at the time.)

Sabrina had suggested holding the small get-together on top of Le Grand Paris - a suggestion that Chloe had vetoed because her father was hosting a college reunion party and needed the area. The next suggestion had been to cram everyone at Marinette’s house, but that was short-lived because of the fact that there wasn’t really enough sitting room for everyone unless Ivan let three people sit on him. Adrien’s house had been suggested as well but quickly shot down due to the fact that both Kagami  _ and  _ Nino were banned from stepping foot on Agreste mansion grounds as long as Gabriel Agreste lived and breathed.

_ ( “If we break into the house and drag him to Sabrina’s dad on the grounds of child neglect we can have Juleka’s party there. I know the layout since Adrien toured me around the house once, we can definitely do it with the proper cover.” _

_ “Great. I’ll go get my loudest tunes and my best speakers. You can do the breaking in.” _

_ Adrien massages his temples. “Marinette, please tell me Nino and Kagami aren’t planning to break into my house and kidnap my father right in front of me.” _

_ “I won’t then,” Marinette responds immediately. ) _

The venue they’d decided on, after about an hour of deliberation, eventually became a restaurant somewhere close to the Pont des Arts that the Kubdels and the Kurtzbergs enjoyed frequenting - to the point that Alix and Nathaniel were recognized by the kitchen staff by name  _ and  _ face. Reservations had been made under Jalil Kubdel’s name, and an area had been sectioned off for them. Things were supposed to have gone as planned.

And then Hawkmoth had decided akumatizing the head chef was a good idea.

Nino had immediately pulled Kagami and Adrien under the table with him - being the two people closest to him at the time of the akuma attack - while the rest of the party had scattered, the sounds of screams ringing in the air. Marinette had ducked under a different table with Nathaniel and Rose, thankfully in the line of sight of Adrien, who Nino knew would’ve worried sick over her.

“My bodyguard’s out there,” Adrien mutters mostly to himself. Nino sees him twist his ring anxiously before he clenches the fist with the ring. “I have to get to him and tell him to run for it!”

“You are  _ not  _ going out there, Adrien,” Kagami hisses, tugging on his arm. “With how close we are to the akumatized person and the chaos, we can’t expose ourselves and cause more trouble for Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

“But I can’t just let him-!”

“Sorry dude, but Mimi’s right. We have to stay here,” Nino takes hold of his other arm as well, feeling Longg’s paws scrabbling at his hair under his cap.  _ Sorry, Longg, but we’re kinda stuck here right now.  _ “Your old man’s not gonna like it if you get hurt, and that’s probably the one thing the three of us can agree on.”

Just then, a floating pair of tongs tears through the tablecloth, and aims for Nino’s neck like an alligator snapping its jaws at him. Kagami and Adrien, working together, pull on Nino’s arms to get him out of the way quickly enough - but the tongs manage to snag onto the Dragon Miraculous around his neck. With how it was attached to him, Nino was beginning to choke.

Nino’s hands fumble wildly, clinging desperately to the Miraculous’s cord. Since it was in the shape of an earphone splitter and it was wrapped around his neck, it looked like he was being strangled by a noose by the tongs that refused to let go. He can feel Longg’s anxious scrabbling on top of his head, as if trying to debate if he was to let himself get exposed to save the Miraculous, and then-

_ Don’t let go, don’t let g- ack- don’t- _

“Haghk-!”

“Kagami!” Adrien shouts, and Nino dares to crane his head around despite being choked to see what had caused his best friend’s distress -

\- only to yelp when the Dragon Miraculous finally gets pulled off his neck, the tongs shaking the choker wildly before throwing it to the side like a dog would play with a toy. The choker skids across the rubble and into a mess of destroyed furniture.

Nino’s heart rate spikes, and his blood burns like fire as he races for the choker, leaping.  _ The Miraculous! _

Except fate had other plans apparently, because suddenly he feels Ladybug’s arms wrapped around his waist and swinging him up to safety outside the restaurant. The instant the ladybug heroine puts him down, however, he’s in a panicked frenzy, already attempting to climb back down from where she’d placed him - which was on top of a roof to get him out of the way.

“Nino, what’s wrong?” Ladybug asks in concern.

“The- the Dragon Miraculous, Ladybug-” Nino blurts out, and unconsciously his hands move towards his bare neck. “The akuma managed to yank it off of me and throw it under some rubble, I need to get it back-”

“ _ You  _ need to stay here. I’ll get it back while getting more of the civilians,” Ladybug taps his chest sternly. “Once we get it back, become Komodo, okay? We need the help of Water Dragon for this akuma specifically.”

“Okay, but-” as he speaks, Longg pokes his head out from under his cap. “Longg’s still here, so that means-”

Ladybug holds up a hand. “Later Nino, okay? At patrol, I’ll explain a lot of things, but for now, there’s some civilians that need rescuing.” She spins her yoyo before throwing it back at the wreckage of the restaurant, and with a pull she throws herself back into the fray, leaving Nino to fret on top of a roof with Longg to keep him company.

“It’s not your fault, Nino,” Longg tries to reassure his holder, patting his knee. “You were about to choke to death, and I’d rather you lost the Miraculous temporarily than died holding on to it.”

“But- if the akuma realizes it’s a Miraculous, we’re so  _ fucked,  _ dude.”

“Well, we can only hope. The tongs didn’t register them, after all, and you were a civilian. It should be fine as long as Ladybug manages to reco-”

Longg chokes, and when Nino turns to look at him, he sees Longg’s eyes suddenly glisten. “Longg?”

“Somebody found the Dragon Miraculous,” Longg whispers. “Nino, I’m sorry, I’ll be right back.”

Nino’s eyes widen. “Wait, what do you mean- Longg-”

“I’ll tell you everything lateee _ eeeerrrrrr-! _ ”

Before Nino’s eyes, Longg is pulled away in a manner most familiar to him - as if Longg had been pulled back into the Dragon Miraculous. Which meant that someone had put on the Dragon Miraculous and used it to transform.  _ And  _ knew the catchphrase for the Miraculous.  _ Did Ladybug find the Miraculous? But she said she needed me to-! _

“Nino?”

Nino shrieks and nearly falls off the roof.

Luckily, Bastille is standing right behind him, and manages to snag onto his arm and pull him back up. “Nino, did Ladybug put you up here? Where is she?”

“Basti- she’s-” Nino holds up a hand while the other goes to touch the area above his heart, his heartbeat racing from the sheer adrenaline of nearly falling off the roof. “She’s down there. What are you doing up here?”

“Kaiser and I have been assigned evacuation duty since Komodo and Inari seem to be… incapacitated,” Bastille gives Nino an all-knowing smile before frowning again. “But seriously. We should get you down from here and somewhere safe and well hidden.” ‘ _ A place where you can transform’  _ goes unsaid, but Nino hears it anyway in his intent.

Nino’s hands reach towards his bare neck again, and Bastille’s eyes narrow at it. “... Where is it?”

“Where’s…?”

“The Miraculous, Nino,” Bastille confirms Nino’s running theory that he knew  _ exactly  _ who was behind Komodo’s mask with that statement, but now wasn’t the time to panic about it. “Is everything-”

“WATER DRAGON!”

Nino and Bastille both whip their heads around so fast that they might as well have gotten whiplash.

Fighting alongside Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Medusa is a girl in red, wielding a sword Nino knew all too well. Before his very eyes the girl leaps into the air with Chat’s assistance and throws herself at the flaming hot furnace that is the akumatized person, and her entire body turns into water.

“Who-” Nino’s voice catches in his throat. “Who is-”

“That’s the Dragon Miraculous,” Bastille muses, but he’s more thoughtful than worried. “Ladybug and Chat Noir don’t seem at all that bothered to see her, while Medusa is wary. You can tell by her body language. Which can only mean she’s held the Dragon before.”

_ Held the dragon before? _

Nino’s eyes light up.

_ No way…  _ **_Ryuuko?!_ **

The akumatized chef roars before eventually powering down, the fires of its furnace finally dying down. With no more flames to douse, the water falls out of its ‘mouth’ and pools below the rusting akuma, and soon enough the girl - Ryuuko - reforms. Chat Noir’s Cataclysm carves along the pipe on the side of the furnace, and soon the akuma butterfly is released into the air, which Ladybug quickly captures with a few quick swipes.

Nino falls back onto the shingles of the roof. Ladybug hadn’t needed to use him in this battle - which was good, he supposes, but the Dragon Miraculous  _ had  _ been used. And by its  _ previous  _ holder, of all people.

_ Ryuuko… _

The four heroes on the ground do a ‘Pound it’ before Ladybug tosses the Lucky Charm of the day into the air, clearing up all the damages to the area and returning all the civilians she’d left on the rooftops to the ground - which meant Nino and Bastille had been brought back to the ground as well. Almost immediately Nino’s knees buckle under him at the sheer exhilaration, but before he can make contact with the ground someone catches him under the arms.

“Easy there.”

Nino looks up. Eyes like flames greet him. Despite himself, his cheeks turn pink.

Medusa glances at her Miraculous before saluting them and bounding off to detransform, Chat Noir following not too far behind. Ladybug and Bastille, however, remain on the scene as Ryuuko hoists Nino up and back on his feet. He doesn’t do much moving as she dusts him off the best she can before letting go of him.

“Thank you for your help today, Ryuuko,” Ladybug says warmly as she holds out a hand to the girl. Nino watches as Ryuuko takes the hand and shakes it with a nod as Ladybug adds, “I’m sure Komodo will appreciate you filling in for him immensely.”

Bastille side eyes Nino. Nino is severely tempted to kick him in the shin.

“What happened to him, anyway?” Ryuuko asks curiously.

Ladybug balks, something that makes Bastille laugh. Shooting a dirty look at him, she fumbles for a bit before eventually saying, “He’s uh- he’s sick! Called in with a cold! Couldn’t come. Gave me his Miraculous to use.”

“Ah.” Ryuuko’s brow furrows. “... I hope he gets better soon then.”

“Speaking of Komodo, you should probably hand his Miraculous back over,” Bastille suggests, holding out a hand. When Ryuuko’s hand hovers over the choker protectively, he laughs again. The laugh is warm and soothing, calming, as if he was placating her. “Or you can hand it over to Ladybug instead. I don’t mind at all.”

Ladybug rolls her eyes before lightly punching Bastille in the shoulder. “Just because you got declared as the next Guar-”

Nino coughs loudly, reminding the three of them he’s still there, and Ladybug jumps instantly, panicking.

“Gack! Sorry, sorry- Nino, you can uh… go home now, if you need to. Looks like your friends aren’t coming back for the party today and the restaurant is closed,” they all glance at the restaurant before turning back to look at Nino again. “... or were you waiting for one of us to take you home?”

Nino’s cheeks tint a brighter red. “Guh.”

“I can bring him home,” Ryuuko volunteers, and Nino internally does a backflip off a door handle. “You’re about to time out anyway, Ladybug.”

“Then I’ll go with you to retrieve the Miraculous,” Bastille offers again. “In Ladybug’s stead, of course. Push comes to shove, I’ll deliver the Miraculous back to Komodo myself.”

Ryuuko squints at him before sighing and nodding. “Alright then. Shall we then, Nino?”

Silence.

“... Nino?” Ryuuko tries again.

Nino tries to say ‘okay’, but instead makes a noise akin to a dying whale.

Ryuuko takes that as an affirmation, and pulls his arms around her shoulders. “Hold on tightly, then. I won’t let you go, but it’s good to take precautionary measures.”

“Wait-” Nino finally regains his voice as Ryuuko crouches a little. “Wait, what are you trying to doHOOOOOO-!”

Nino will never admit he’d squeaked like a mouse when Ryuuko had scooped him up bridal style.  _ NEVER. _

(Bastille is eyeing him with a knowing smile. Damn him to hell.)

“Your house is which way?” Ryuuko asks. When he points in a direction, she nods in affirmation. “Alright then. Ladybug, I’ll see you later. Bastille?”

“Right behind you, dragon girl.”

* * *

“Thank you for bringing my son back safely,” Mrs. Lahiffe expresses gratefully, Nino wrapped in her arms and Chris peeking out from behind her legs. The Lahiffes stand in their living room, the turtle and previous dragon hero standing there with them. “Though I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you before. What’s your name?”

“I am Ryuuko,” Ryuuko answers honestly. “But you won’t really see me for much longer, really. I have to return this Miraculous to Komodo.”

“Ah, so you’re one of the temporaries?”

“... More or less.”

Chris audibly sighs in relief. “That’s good. I liked Komodo, he’s cool. No offense, lady. You’re pretty cool too, but Komodo is cooler.”

“Is that so?” Ryuuko gives Chris a fanged smile that’s all teeth. Nino, subconsciously, feels like he’s seen a similar smile before. “Komodo  _ is  _ a respectable hero, yes. I’m glad this Miraculous is in his hands.”

Mrs. Lahiffe sighs. “Well… I still worry about the lot of you. You all seem too  _ young  _ to be fighting these terrible, traumatized people. You shouldn’t be dealing with this at your ages - you should be safe with friends having parties and the like.”

“It’s not a huge problem, ma’am,” Bastille murmurs. “One day we’ll beat Hawkmoth, and we’ll go back to those normal things. It’ll all go back to a new normal eventually.”

“I certainly hope so!”

“Hey, lady?” Chris asks.

Nino corrects him softly, “Ryuuko.”

“Ryuuko,” Chris amends. “Can I ask a question? Can I, can I?”

Ryuuko glances at Bastille, who only grins cryptically. She sighs before smiling another smile that’s all teeth at him. “Go ahead.”

“Do you think my big brother’s cool?”

Nino visibly chokes and turns bright red. Wriggling out of his mother’s embrace he swipes at his younger brother, who only cackles and runs away, sticking out his tongue. “CHRIS LAHIFFE!”

“Oh dear- I’m terribly sorry, you two, they’re usually more behaved than this- Chris! Nino! Behave yourselves!” Mrs. Lahiffe scolds, turning to face them. Nino hangs his head, his ears warm, but he doesn’t let up in chasing his younger brother, who’d decided that hiding behind the heroes was his best bet.

_ Oh, you dirty little shit,  _ Nino curses in his head when Chris clings to Ryuuko’s leg and sticks his tongue out at him. “Chris, let go of Ryuuko. Now.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“ _ Chris.” _

“Aw, c’mon, Nino! You already have  _ one  _ superhero girl mooning over you!” Chris complains. “You’re not  _ that  _ cool to have  _ two! _ ”

“I think this is the part where we go, Ryuuko,” Bastille suggests.

Ryuuko glances down at Chris before awkwardly prying him off of her leg. The younger boy pouts before stomping back into his bedroom as Ryuuko straightens out and faces Nino again. “Your brother is… certainly a character.”

“I’m  _ really  _ sorry,” Nino breathes out, heart pounding. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying. Honest. He’s just met you before and now he’s-”

Ryuuko nibbles on her lower lip before tentatively reaching out and clapping a hand on his shoulder. “... Hey. You don’t need to explain yourself. It’s alright. But we really have to get going now.”

“Oh! Uh- yeah- I guess- I mean sure- I mean-” Why was he so bad at this? Why? “Wait, Ryuuko, right?”

“Yes?”

“Komodo!”

“... What about him?”

_ Doi-! Dumbass.  _ Nino palms his forehead before shaking his head. “Komodo. He talks to me a lot. He mentioned wanting to be taught by you in swordfighting. I didn’t think I’d meet you like this, so-”

“Oh.” Ryuuko mulls over this with a frown before eventually asking, “Well. I’d love to teach him, yes, but… I’m not sure if it’s safe to tell him who I really am identity wise, because we obviously can’t keep trading the Dragon Miraculous to disguise our identities.”

Nino frowns. Shit. He hadn’t really thought of that when he’d insisted to Inari he find Ryuuko, had he?

“We’ll talk to Ladybug about it.” It’s then that Nino is reminded that Bastille is still present, because the older boy snaps his fingers at the idea. “I’m sure we can figure something out that will preserve your identity, but if not… there’s always deciding to expose yourself as a previous holder since you already had your identity compromised.”

Ryuuko frowns. “... Right.”

“Be seeing you, Nino Lahiffe,” Bastille greets, and without much of a farewell on his end he leaves the Lahiffe household. Ryuuko is more hesitant to leave, judging from the way she seemed to linger by the doorway, before she turns to Nino.

“Nino?”

“Ah- yes?” he turns to face her. “What is it?”

“... Take care.”

“I. Uh.” Why were his ears burning? Why now?! “Y-you too!”

Ryuuko smiles softly at him. There’s no teeth this time, but it’s just as genuine. Nino’s chest warms considerably, his heart thudding rapidly, as Ryuuko closes the door behind her.

* * *

Bastille comes back with the Dragon Miraculous and Longg a few minutes before ten o’clock, just to make sure it’s safe for Nino to receive the Miraculous again. He gets to witness a happy reunion between the two - but before he’s able to leave, Nino stops him.

“Bastille.”

“Nino,” Bastille answers. “What is it?”

“How?”

“How, what?”

Nino frowns. “How did you know it was me? That… I was Komodo?”

“... Trade secret, dragon boy,” Bastille winks. “But it’s definitely something Ladybug is going to bring up at the next team meeting, since it’s been a while since we had one. Now I have to go.” Bastille pets Longg on the head with a finger and pats Nino’s shoulder before saluting them. “See you guys this Saturday.”

When Nino blinks, Bastille is already gone.

“I’m sorry for my abrupt departure earlier, Nino,” Longg apologizes the instant they process Bastille’s leaving. “But Ryuuko had-”

Nino holds up a finger. “Tell me about it tomorrow, okay Longg? Tonight, we sleep in early.”

Longg laughs. “As you wish, hatchling.”


	17. page seventeen: friendly banter

By the time Inari drops by Wednesday night as usual to hang out with Nino as ‘friends’, Nino’s halfway under his bed looking for something, so he’s initially not aware of her arrival. Thankfully Longg had already sequestered himself somewhere between Nino’s clean socks in the sock drawer, so the fox heroine hadn’t seen him upon entry at the very least. She does, however, bear witness to Nino’s socked feet kicking back and forth while he rummages underneath the bed.

Not that Nino knows this.

“What are you doing?”

At the sound of her voice, Nino tries to stand up, and immediately regrets it when his head hits the underside of his bed with a loud  _ thunk _ . Hissing quietly to himself, Nino forces himself out from under the bed with gritted teeth, sneezing lightly as the dust that had collected in his hair scatters as he shakes his head. He takes off his glasses briefly to try and clean them as he greets her with a “Hey ‘Nari. Just looking for something.”

“In the middle of the night?” Inari asks as he feels around for his desk, where his glasses case and cleaner were. Everything was pretty blurry with his glasses off. “Shoe to your-”

_ THUNK! _

“- right.”

Nino, face down on the floor, only mutters “Ow.”

As he sits up, he sees Inari’s blurry form moving around in front of him. It was nice that despite his piss poor eyesight he could still sort of identify Inari’s mask from the rest of her body with how white it was. After a few moments, he sees the familiar oblong black case of his glasses being held out to him, and with a grateful smile he pops it open and pulls out the cleaning cloth, cleaning off his glasses as he says, “Thanks. You’re lucky to not have glasses, ‘Nari. They’re a  _ pain  _ in the butt to clean.”

“You don’t know if I have glasses outside of costume, Nino,” Inari reminds as he goes to stand up again, dusting himself off. “But you’re welcome. What were you looking for exactly that needed you to go under your bed?”

“My phone. Kinda lost it while cleaning my room ‘cause my mom told me to when I got home from school today, and can’t go to sleep without at least knowing where it is, y’know?” Nino scratches the back of his neck as he goes to face his bed and pull back the sheets.  _ Still not here, huh…  _ “I need to set my alarm for tomorrow so I don’t like… oversleep or anything.”

That was partially truth. While Nino was not exactly like Marinette, who always seemed so exhausted that she overslept more often than not and arrived at class only barely a minute before it began, sometimes he was able to sleep through five alarms given the right opportunity. Once he’d slept an entire day and hadn’t been aware of it until he’d gone to school the next day without an excuse letter, and been absolutely baffled to realize that he’d missed a whole day. When he’d asked his mother (and Longg, privately), about it, they’d both told him the same thing:

_ “No matter what we could do, you just wouldn’t wake up. And when we tried shaking you, you nearly bit me/your mother in your sleep!” _

While he’d apologized for that to his mother, Longg had told him in their conversation that it wasn’t necessary for him to apologize, but the sentiment was appreciated. It was simply an aspect of being a dragon according to Longg.

* * *

_ “Sleeping a whole day?” Nino asks skeptically. “That’s a dragon thing?” _

_ Longg shrugs with what little shoulders he had. “I once had a holder who’d slept an entire week in and people had thought him to be dead.” _

_ “Seriously?!” _

_ “Oh, he woke up after a week and scared everyone in his village, and then everything went back to normal. He was lucky that all he had to deal with then was a rogue user of the mantis Miraculous, else the village would have already been in ruins when he’d woken up.” _

_ “Can we go back to the part where you mentioned a mantis Miraculous?” _

* * *

At his explanation, Inari cocks her head to the side, but doesn’t really question it further as she looks around his room again. With how often she dropped by, it felt like she probably already memorized most of his room enough that she felt at home in it. That was just Nino’s guess, however. “Maybe I can help. Where have you already searched?”

“Uh, well, there’s under my bed, and in my closet…” Nino counts off verbally as he pulls his blanket back into place before picking up his pillow and violently shaking it just in case his phone had ended up inside the pillowcase itself. When he finds nothing, he puts it down. Upon remembering that Longg was hiding out in his sock drawer, he adds, “I already searched my sock and underwear drawers too, so those are a no go.”

Inari taps the edge of her mask thoughtfully with a finger before heading immediately for the bathroom to search there. Once she closes the door behind her, Nino opens the sock drawer to peek down at Longg.

_ You doing okay in there?  _ Nino mouths to Longg, who nods. The dragon kwami had apparently been busying himself with color coding Nino’s socks for some reason, judging from how the socks were currently laid out beside him. It was an odd thing to be doing at a time like this, but Nino didn’t really mind in the long run. Longg liked to arrange things whenever he wasn’t looking - last time he’d looked away while doing homework, the kwami had taken to arranging his CDs alphabetically to pass the time.

“It’s not in your bathroom, Nino,” Inari’s voice says as she comes back inside his bedroom, making Nino promptly shut the drawer back before turning to face her. “Have you checked your closet?”

“Uh, not in full?” He’d definitely taken a peek inside before deciding that it was too dark to really  _ see  _ anything in there without a light. And Chris had already pilfered his flashlight for a sleepover with the Cesaire twins the next night - coincidentally, the night he’d be going out as Komodo to the Tsurugi house. “You can look if you want. I’m gonna go check the living room.”

“Why are you going to check the living room if you lost it while you were cleaning your room?”

“I stopped to take a break in the living room for a bit.”

Inari stares at him for a good few minutes before saying, “Your mother could still be awake. She doesn’t know I’m here.”

“I’ll be  _ real  _ quiet, trust me,” Nino promises. “I’ve snuck around this house before. Know it like the back of my hand! She won’t wake up. And anyway, it’s probably better she sees me poking around the living room than you if she  _ does  _ wake up, anyway. She’s not gonna look in here if I’m out there.”

The fox heroine cocks her head to the side briefly before nodding. “Okay. I’ll go look in your closet then.”

Nino’s relieved that she shared the sentiment as she goes to open his closet. He didn’t have anything embarrassing in there, so he wasn’t  _ too  _ bothered by her taking a look inside. Thanks to his mom forcing him to clean his room that day, he’d already stashed and/or thrown away embarrassing things in places only he and Longg knew about - it would take a  _ miracle  _ if Inari somehow found one of them.

Unless of course he’d missed one. But that was impossible - he and Longg had tag teamed to clean his room.

Nino slowly opens his bedroom door, the light of his room spilling out into the rather dark joint living room and kitchen area. The Lahiffe home was rather small, but homey - which suited Nino, Chris, and his mother just fine, really. It got crowded during family reunions whenever they were hosting them, but it always felt just right either way - not like Adrien’s house. Nino couldn’t imagine living in such a huge lonely mansion with a father like Gabriel Agreste. At least Kagami didn’t seem  _ that  _ lonely in her house, even if it  _ was  _ just her and her mother and however many maids they had.

Kagami…  _ Kagami…  _ Nino’s brow furrows as he tiptoes to the living room and starts searching around the pillows of the sofas. When he finds nothing on the surface, he starts sticking his hand in the nooks and crannies to see if it’d fallen in.  _ Going to her house tomorrow… seven… Chris should already be at the Cesaires by then, and mom’s working late, which means I get the house to myself… _

Nino’s fingers brush against something, and he pulls it out. One of Chris’s comic books hidden under the cushions. He puts it on the coffee table before reaching around again.  _ That means I have to lock up the house before going just in case, and wait, do superheroes like… bring anything to these sorts of things? Maybe there’s some sort of decorum to this and stuff. Flowers? No, it’s not like we’re dating, I’m there on business and besides, Kagami’s just a friend- _

“Nino?”

Nino’s suddenly treated to a bright light shining in his eyes - the living room light somewhere above him. When he looks at the light switch, he sees his mother standing nearby, an eyebrow raised at him. He grins awkwardly at her. “... Hi Mom?”

“It’s the middle of the night, Nino. What are you doing in the living room?”

Nino, realizing that his hand was still halfway under the couch cushion, pulls his arm out. “... Was lookin’ for my phone.”

“You mean the phone you left on the kitchen island?”

He looks at the kitchen island separating the kitchen and the living room. Surely enough, there is a familiar gadget sitting innocently on top of the polished marble. Nino’s ears burn in embarrassment as he stands up and goes to get it.

“What  _ will  _ I do with you, sweetie?” his mother asks with an affectionate shake of the head as he slinks past her, pausing to ruffle his hair. “You really should be asleep, you know. It’s still a school day tomorrow.”

“I’ll sleep in a bit,” Nino promises. He  _ would _ \- except he was going to hang out with Inari tonight, thank you very much. “I just need to talk to a friend before going to bed.”

His mother clicks her tongue, but doesn’t really argue, so he enters his bedroom door and goes to close it-

“You know, if she ever needed to stay the night at any point, you can stay on the couch, Nino. As your guest she can take your bed. Heaven knows she has to travel all the way back home every Wednesday night from who knows where, so you might as well offer.”

Nino accidentally slams the door violently in his shock.

“Nino?” When he turns around to face Inari, his ears are burning violently. So is the rest of his face, apparently, because Inari’s next comment is, “Your whole face is red.”

With a strangled squeak, Nino says in one breath, “I found my phone let’s just watch a movie now okay great I’ll go set up.”

As he goes to pull up the movie of the night, he tries not to think too hard about how his mother somehow knew that Inari had been here the whole time. Was his mother  _ psychic?  _ Or worse -  _ LADYBUG?!  _ That would be  _ so  _ fucked, because that meant his mother had given him the Turtle Miraculous. But then again, the Miraculous didn’t change appearances  _ that  _ much, did they? Even Alya as Rena Rouge had only had her hair pulled up in a ponytail.

_ … Ladybug probably isn’t my mom. She’s too young to be my mom.  _ Nino sighs in relief at the thought before turning the monitor towards his bed, leaving the movie to play before settling next to Inari.  _ Enough about that, though. Movie time. _

* * *

“You know, Medusa’s noticed I come over here often.”

Nino glances at her sideways. It was funny to see the serious fox heroine all bundled up in his blanket - she looked  _ slightly  _ less threatening than usual. “Medusa? How’d she-”

“I told you this before, but on Wednesdays she and Bastille are part of the patrol with me. She staked out once when she saw me heading your way and confronted me about it only the other day.” Inari doesn’t look at him, mask still facing the screen. “She’s asking what my business is with you.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I told her we were friends, and that I was being very careful not to be spotted by Hawkmoth,” Inari answers. “I think she’s worried about you.”

Nino blinks. “Medusa? Worried about  _ me? _ ” While he would’ve probably understood Medusa worrying over him if he’d been Komodo seeing as that they were teammates, he was  _ Nino _ right now and Medusa didn’t know Komodo and Nino were one and the same.  _ “ _ But we don’t even talk like the two of us do!”

“She probably still worries about the possibility of you getting akumatized, most likely.” Inari’s head tilts slightly down. “The others all are. Worried about you, I mean.”

Nino bites his lip - lightly, to prevent making his lip bleed again. They were worried about him still? “I haven’t been followed by an akuma in ages, ‘Nari.”  _ Mainly because Longg likes to stab them with his tail before they even get close to me.  _ “You don’t need to like… spend so much time and energy worrying over one civilian.”

“I’m aware. But I choose to be concerned for your wellbeing and have a viable reason to be constantly concerned.”

“And that would be?”

“You’re my friend.”

Nino’s heart skips a beat and pratfalls into his stomach at her words. He doesn’t know why. “O-oh?”

“A good friend of mine in my civilian life once told me that friends will worry about each other even when their friends tells them not to, because they care. And I care about you, Nino.” Inari faces him fully, and Nino’s vaguely aware that the credits are rolling as she speaks. “In this time that we’ve gotten to know each other, and in the time that I’ve spent learning how to be friends with others, I’ve decided that I most definitely care about you more than I thought I would have.”

_ Why did this feel like a confession of something?! _

“T-that’s- wow, that’s great! Definitely good. Great. I mean great. That’s great, because-” If speaking was a circus act and a class in school, Nino was getting the lowest marks and wasn’t just a clown, he was the entire fucking circus. “- because. Because I also care about you a lot! I’m happy to be your friend too. Absolutely.”

Truth.

Inari’s head ducks down briefly as she ponders. Nino watches her fingers lace and unlace themselves with each other for a few minutes before she speaks up again. “You’re not lying.”

“Wh- of course I’m not lying!”

“I wasn’t accusing you of lying. I’m just saying that I can tell you aren’t lying, because you’re a horrible liar.” Even with the mask on, Nino knows she’s smiling at him in amusement, but somehow he doesn’t think he minds in the slightest. He smiles back at her, relaxing. “I’m glad I get to spend time with you. Really. It’d be nice to spend time in public, but that would be dangerous and put a bigger target on your back.

The thought of Hawkmoth makes his face take on a sour look. “Stupid Hawkmoth. But then again, maybe we wouldn’t have even met if you weren’t Inari and I wasn’t like… Nino, if not for Hawkmoth, in a way.”

“Maybe,” Inari concedes, and he notes the slight change in tone. She sounded a little bothered at the idea - as though the idea that she and Nino couldn’t have become friends was… not very appealing. “But maybe our paths would have crossed anyway. Paris isn’t as large as tourists think it is.”

Nino snorts. “It does get kinda smaller the longer you live in the city, huh?”

“Mmm. It does. Though I can’t tell if it’s a good or a bad thing since Hawkmoth is still a looming threat.”

Inari’s hand reaches below her mask and moves it aside, allowing Nino to see how wide her mouth opens when she yawns.  _ Wow. She must be really sleepy.  _ “My apologies, Nino. I’m more tired than I thought. I think I should leave now so you can get sleep as well.”

His mother’s words from earlier echo in his head, and before he can stop himself he blurts out, “You can stay the night.”

Inari stares at him.

In his head, it’s Komodo this time digging a fifty foot deep grave and shoving Nino into it, because  _ this  _ was the hole he’d dug for himself and by god he’d lie in it. “I mean! I mean- you’re always. Welcome. To stay the night, I mean. I can take the couch or- or pull out my sleeping bag and you can take the bed- all you’d have to do is wake up super early to go back home before your family notices you’re gone and all-”

“...” Inari watches him quietly as he babbles. With her mask still askew, he can see her mouth slowly curling up in a small, soft smile, and he does  _ not  _ understand why the sight of it makes his heart hammer even louder in his chest. “Nino.”

“- and like you can even take all my pillows too, and-”

“Nino.”

Nino stops when he feels Inari’s hand on his wrist. The touch is feather light, yet it feels heavy anyway.

“That’s very kind of you to offer. But again, it’s dangerous for you to house a superhero overnight.” Inari frowns. “I could detransform in my sleep. I don’t trust my kwami to not play that sort of trick on me.”

Nino grimaces. “I. I guess that’s a good point, yeah. Didn’t think of that.”

“But it  _ is  _ a sweet gesture, Nino. I do appreciate it. If I ever do need to, like when you offered your bathroom in between battles… I will take you up on that offer.” Inari nods to him. “But I won’t be taking the bed.”

“You are  _ not  _ taking the couch.”

“I’m taking your bathroom.”

“Wha- no!”

The rest of the night is soon spent playfully bickering with Inari over where she’d hypothetically sleep if she ever needed to. Which leads to an impromptu pillow fight that was mostly onesided, considering that Inari had decided securing pillows to her armor had been a good idea as protection.

Nino forgets he’d even been tired. What time was it, anyway?

Eh.

* * *

When Nino blearily wakes up the next day to the sun glaring at his face and with only one single inkling of what he’d done the last night, his eyes meet Longg’s worried ones, the dragon kwami saying, “Nino? Please wake up. You have made a most grievous error and, as you would say, ‘got fucked up big time’.”

“Longg,” Nino groans.

“Nino. You slept through  _ all  _ your alarms.”

_ THAT  _ wakes him up. He sits up lightning fast, gives himself vertigo, and then forces himself to look at the time on his phone.

Oh my fucking God he was going to be  _ so  _ late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ candid image of nino at the end of this chapter](https://66.media.tumblr.com/4d6fbfd717d035a4819b9bc898a1d214/743f4a50099edca0-e0/s1280x1920/bd68f39f23de0e89e6c85fa99e20aa19e7c573ea.png)


	18. page eighteen: dead on his feet

When Nino bursts into class after having slept through five  _ (FIVE!) _ alarms with his cap askew, toast in his mouth, and glasses off-kilter, the entire class looks at him like he’s a madman and a half. Not even Alya can help the snort that escapes her mouth - which she immediately smothers with a hand -, while Kim openly howls with laughter from the back at the sight of his childhood friend. Caline Bustier only raises an eyebrow at him, but gestures for him to take a seat with a smile anyway, saying, “You made it just in time Nino. I haven’t started today’s lesson yet. Though I do admit, this is highly unusual for you. You’re not usually late like this.”

Alix snorts. “That honor would have to go to-”

“MissBustierI’msorryI’m-”

Nino stumbles forward the instant Marinette crashes into his back, the budding designer yelping at the unexpected blockade in her usual path of harried movement. He doesn’t kiss the floor, thankfully enough, because Marinette and Ms. Bustier both manage to reach out and catch him by the arms - but it  _ does  _ make Marinette sacrifice a few notebooks to catch him instead. The ring-bound notebooks all clatter to the ground in a heap.

“Sorry,” Nino manages to rumble out through the toast as he slowly,  _ slowly,  _ crouches down to pick up some of the notebooks. Ms. Bustier refused to let go of his arm as he hands over the notebooks to a concerned Marinette, however.

Marinette squints at him thoughtfully. “Are you okay, Nino?”

“‘M’fine.”

“... You sure? You kinda look like-”

Ms. Bustier coughs, prompting Marinette to yelp and skitter to her place with her notebooks. Chloe gives her a wide berth as she ends up dropping all her notebooks on their shared desk and sorts through them.

“Alix, would you be a dear and help Nino up to your place? Just in case.” Ms. Bustier calls.

With a shrug, Alix slides out of her seat before heading over to Nino and slinging his arm over her shoulders. Unconsciously Nino leans on her for support, stumbling slightly, as she laughs and says, “I got you, Nino.”

“Thanks Alix,” Nino says, muffled. With his free hand he shoves the rest of his toast in his mouth before helping Alix help himself to their seat.

* * *

(Spoiler alert: Nino didn’t do much learning at all that day. In fact, he’d spent most of the morning class fast asleep on his notebook, pen in hand and snoring softly. But for once, Ms. Bustier didn’t chastise him for it.)

* * *

When Ms. Bustier dismisses them later, their group crosses paths with the other classes, which startles them briefly. While it was normal that they’d encounter the students from the other classes since they were all either heading to lunch or changing classrooms, it was  _ not  _ very common to see them in large groups like the ones they were seeing right now.

Ivan looks around. “Everyone’s outside of their classrooms.”

“That’s weird. They all look like they’re going home,” Mylene notes thoughtfully, looking over the railing. It  _ did  _ seem like the other classes were milling about downstairs, the others already well on their way out without anyone stopping them. “I wonder what’s up?”

Kim suggests, “Maybe there’s an event, or a celebrity.”

“We already have a celebrity, technically, in the form of Adrien,” Max points out, prompting Adrien to flush a little red. “In fact, a good majority of the students that go to this school are some form of impressive prodigy or mini-celebrity in their own right, with their own connections, so I don’t see how a celebrity could possibly be a cause for such commotion.”

Chloe wrinkles her nose. “What commotion? This is like... dismissal time noise pollution. A.K.A., the usual. ” 

“Even the lower years are out too,” Alya observes, watching as some of the freshmen laugh and rush down the steps in clusters. When Nino glances at her, he sees her hand twitch towards her pocket as if aiming to get her phone out. “Better be something good.”

Nino sighs and leans over the railing, already wishing the day  _ was  _ over already, or that they’d sit down. His lack of sleep was  _ really  _ getting to him that day, and while he didn’t regret having fun with Inari in the slightest, he  _ did  _ wish he didn’t feel so much like… well.  _ Shit _ .

The floor looked pretty appealing right now, actually. Maybe he’d just sit down and take a nap right-

Nino sways and falls over, only barely missing the floor thanks to a startled Kim reacting on instinct and catching him in his arms. His cap nearly falls off, but he can  _ feel  _ Longg forcing it to stay on his head as he lets his eyes close.

“Maybe we should like… get Nino home, actually,” he hears Alix suggests with a wince. “He looks  _ terrible _ .”

Nino feels a familiar hand touch his forehead, checking his temperature, before someone speaks up. It’s Marinette. “He’s not  _ sick,  _ but he looks exhausted as all hell.”

“Maybe he’s hungry!” Kim pipes up. “C’mon, buddy. Let’s get you some nice ol’ salami sandwich from the cafeteria, or whatever the hell’s on the menu for today.”

Nino hears a thwack near his ear where his head was resting on Kim’s bicep. “You think Nino’s gonna be able to eat like this, monkey brain?”

“You’ll see, Tinkerbell. Marmar and I know him better than anyone here,” Kim says with pride. “He’ll wake up for food.”

Food  _ did  _ sound good right about now, actually.

Nino lets himself drift off for a few minutes, still in Kim’s arms, the voices around him eventually fading into a haze of mixed voices and background noise. At one point he was pretty sure he heard Mr. Damocles and some other people asking if he was alright, if he was sick, and  _ maybe  _ Kim or one of the others saying that he was just dead tired, but he didn’t care.

Eventually, however, he’s forced to rouse a bit as Kim carefully puts him down on a chair. Max is quick to supply Nino’s bookbag under him before Nino lands facefirst on his bag with a thump, still exhausted but now unable to really sleep thanks to having been awakened.

“You should probably wake up soon, hatchling,” he hears Longg whisper. “You’re worrying your friends.”

Probably.

Nino, with a groan, forces himself to slowly sit upright just as Kagami goes to sit in front of him, having located their group for lunch. At the sight of him, however, she frowns and holds his head up by the chin, examining him thoughtfully. Well, at least, he  _ thought  _ she was examining him. He kind of still had his eyes half-closed.

“What happened to him?” Kagami asks the rest of the table.

It’s Felix who answers, curiously enough, lifting his eyes from his book to meet her gaze. “Came to class looking like he crawled out of a cave with toast in his mouth. Maybe you’ll have luck getting information out of him, seeing as the two of you are so close.”

(Under the table, Chloe slams her heel on his foot. He flinches slightly before glaring at her.)

Adrien smiles pleasantly at her. “Hey, Kagami. You’re not usually this early in joining us for lunch. What’s up?”

“It would appear that the afternoon classes are cancelled,” Kagami sighs, shrugging. At the others’ wide eyed stares, she clarifies, “According to Ms. Mendeleiev, it was to allow the school to install some new high-tech security measures or something since a parent complained about the frequency of akumas in the school, which means now we have the rest of the day off. We’re still allowed to eat lunch here if we want to, but after that they’re recommending we all go home.”

Kim, from the next table, wonders out loud, “Why would they send us home over installing security cameras?”

“Because arguably such additions could be distracting while done in the middle of classes,” Max answers before taking a bite out of his lunch. “This is a very opportune time for us to be working on our finals, actually.”

Alix stares at him. “Max, our finals aren’t for another few months.”

“So?”

Nathaniel shakes his head. “Enough about that though. Nino, you look  _ seriously  _ trashed.”

“To further clarify: you look like  _ hell, _ ” Chloe states as she stands up and leans over the table to lift Nino’s cap away from his face and get a good look at him. Nino feels Longg briefly cling to the inside of his cap to try and hide from Chloe as she says, “See, look at him! It’s like he’s never heard of ‘beauty sleep’.”

“ _ Chloe, _ ” Adrien warns.

Marinette frowns. “She  _ is  _ right though. Nino, did you get any sleep like… at all tonight? You look dead on your feet.”

Nino makes an ‘okay hand’, which elicits mixed reactions - Adrien had promptly choked at the sight of it, while Marinette had patted his shoulder sympathetically, knowing full well the experience of not getting any sleep even if she didn’t know  _ his  _ reasons yet. Nathaniel too looked sympathetic, while Chloe massaged her temples and Felix only rolled his eyes before turning a page on his book. Kagami, however, surprisingly looked… guilty?

Why would she feel guilty? It wasn’t like  _ she  _ was the one who’d kept him up all night.

“Were you doing homework?” Sabrina asks curiously. “I know that sometimes I stay up very late to do homework because I used to do Chloe’s all the time, so I’m still adjusting to sleeping a little earlier than before.”

Nino grunts in dissent, prompting Nathaniel to ask, “Then what  _ were  _ you doing last night?”

“Mmnnngnghh…” Nino, in this exact moment, was extremely out of it. When Felix snaps his fingers, he blinks rapidly before groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Sorry… ugh. I was just… talking to a friend.”

“All night?” Marinette asks curiously. At literally  _ everyone  _ else’s looks, she yelps and defends, “What’s with that look?!”

“As if we don’t stay up all night talking ourselves, Marinette,” Adrien teases, to which she responds with a blush and a stammer. Felix only snorts before turning another page.

“Yeah.” Nino nods tiredly with a soft smile, remembering Inari, because what else could he do? Admit that he’d been up all night having a pillow fight with one of Paris’s more elusive superheroes in his bedroom so late at night?

Everyone falls silent around him in that very moment.

Nino blinks slowly, and then groans again, ears warming. “Let me guess. I said that out loud.”

“Idiot.” Felix mumbles, but even his eyes are alight with interest.

Sabrina’s eyes are wide as she leans forward. “You were having a pillow fight with one of the superheroes of Paris?”

“There is  _ nothing  _ I can say that will somehow convince any of you otherwise, is there?”

Everyone shakes their head.

Nino massages his temples. Great. Inari was going to fucking  _ kill  _ him for exposing her like this. At least he hadn’t said her name.

“YOU WERE HAVING A PILLOW FIGHT WITH INARI?!” Chloe shrieks - or would have shrieked and told the rest of the lunchroom, had Nathaniel not had the good sense to pull her down and slap his hand over her mouth to muffle her shriek.

This could  _ literally  _ not get any worse.

The fires that were burning Nino’s ears up slowly spreads all over his face as he gauges the others’ reactions. Max, Kim, and Alix looked like they wanted to ask more questions, as did Sabrina, while Felix looked like he  _ wanted  _ to ask but wouldn’t do so with everyone else there to probably ask the same questions he would anyway. Nathaniel looked rather contemplative, while Chloe was wide eyed, brow furrowed, trying desperately to try and wrestle out of Nathaniel’s hold to wrestle answers out of Nino himself.

“You had a pillow fight,” Adrien clarifies. “With Inari, the Fox hero?”

Nino doesn’t respond verbally. His face, however, did all the speaking for him.

Sabrina hums. “Well… it probably makes sense. Wasn’t she the one who brought Nino back to school when Plague Doctor was around? It was her debut too.”

“Look at you, Ninooooo!” Kim jokes, leaning all the way over from the other table to barely elbow Nino - and by that he just barely grazed Nino’s thigh. “Attracting  _ foxes _ now, huh? Didn’t think you had it in yo- OW! The hell was that for?!”

When Nino looks at him, he sees Alix looking at Kim, unimpressed as Kim rubs at his arm ruefully. “Forgive Hercules here, Nino. He lost a few braincells trying to make sure he didn’t fall off his chair a few minutes ago.”

“Uh-” Nino’s interrupted by Sabrina, who wonders, “She must really like Nino to engage in a pillow fight with him, huh?”

Nathaniel squints. “I’ll be honest, guys. She doesn’t really  _ seem  _ like the type to  _ do  _ pillow fights in the first place.”

“How would you know?” Kagami speaks up before Nino can retaliate in his friend’s defense, much to his surprise. Her tone is surprisingly chilly as she asks, “It’s not like you know her personally, do you?”

Nathaniel shrugs. “That’s fair enough. I’m just saying that it doesn’t  _ seem  _ like her from what I know of her, y’know?”

“You don’t know her civilian life,” Nino mutters.

“And you do?” Chloe asks pointedly.

Marinette and Adrien whirl their heads around at Nino as he immediately exclaims loudly, his blood heating up and his exhaustion fading away a little more. “N-no! I mean- I don’t. Know her civilian identity. But I’ve listened to her talk about her civilian life a few times.” A lot of times, actually, but he was  _ not  _ saying that out loud this time. “That’s all, I promise!”

“She didn’t tell you her secret identity? At all?” Adrien asks seriously.

Nino frowns. Why was his best bro suddenly so  _ serious  _ about this? “Of course not! Inari’s not stupid. She’s one of the smartest people I know, dude! She’d  _ never  _ tell me her secret identity because it’s one of the things to  _ never _ do and we both know it!”

“That’s so romantic… a heroine, unable to tell you her true self, visiting you each and every night…” Sabrina sighs dreamily.

Felix snorts. “Careful, Raincomprix. You’re starting to sound like Lavillant.”

“Does she visit you every night?” Adrien asks. It’s surprising how he’s so focused on this topic, his green eyes wide with interest. “Inari shouldn’t be out and about every day, right?”

“Well, there’s- wait, how do you know Inari’s not supposed to be out every day?”

“Chat Noir mentioned it to me once,” Adrien answers smoothly before waving it off. “Enough about that though. When  _ does  _ she visit you, and was this a one time thing?”

Nathaniel raises an eyebrow. “Something tells me the second question should’ve come first.”

“I- uh-” Nino, thankfully, was saved by Kagami standing up and gathering her things quickly, making the others turn to look at her curiously. “Mimi-?”

“You all need to stop pressuring him to answer your questions,” Kagami declares sternly, prompting everyone to flinch back. “This is something between himself and Inari, and if I’m not mistaken this shouldn’t have even been semi-public knowledge in the first place. You know that they had a pillow fight last night? Keep it to yourselves. There is a good chance Inari has made him promise to stay quiet about this, and here you are unintentionally pressuring him to break that promise.”

Nino flushes red as she adds, “They’re friends. Alright. Then let them be friends. The only reason their friendship isn’t even public knowledge is because it’d be dangerous to be a civilian connected to a hero with Hawkmoth around and you all know this.” The incident with Nino having been formerly Carapace and his connection to the other heroes goes unsaid, but it rings true in the air anyway.

“You’re right. I’m sorry, Nino,” Adrien turns to face his best friend with remorse, bowing his head like a cat seeking forgiveness. The resemblance to Chat Noir was a  _ little  _ too uncanny in Nino’s opinion. “I shouldn’t have done that. Will you forgive me?”

“Only if you stop speaking like Felix, dude,” Nino says, prompting Adrien to snigger as Felix looks up again from his book, offended. “Relax. It’s cool. I know you were just curious and worried.”

Marinette sighs. “It’s dangerous business being friends with a hero, Nino. Even one as fond of and careful in hiding as Inari. You’re in danger if Hawkmoth finds out.”

“If I can survive Scarlet Moth, Nettie, I can survive anything,” Nino swears, grinning. “We’ll be okay.”

“So…” Kim asks, after a few moments. “Was that a one time thing, or-”

Alix headbutts his bicep. “ _ Kim. _ ”

“I’m kidding!”

“Mimi, you can sit back down now,” Nino says. “And… thanks for standing up for me.”

“It was no trouble, Nino, but I’m not sitting back down.” At his question look, she clarifies, “I’ll be going down to the locker rooms to pick up the rest of my things and then I’ll be going home. I have something to prepare for tonight.”

Nino squints, trying to remember, before a lightbulb appears over his head. “Oh! Right. The. Thingy. Yeah the thingy.”

“What ‘thingy’?” Chloe asks, making air quotes.

Kagami shakes her head. “It’s private business, Chloe. And yes, that’s what’s happening tonight, Nino. I’m guessing he told you?”

“Who told who now?” Adrien asks, befuddled.

Nino nods, ignoring the question. “He’s passing by my house for a bit later to let me know and all since he’s patrolling tonight. Do you have like… anything to tell him before he heads over to your place?”

“ _ Who’s  _ going to  _ whose  _ house now? Who’s patrolling?” Marinette massages her temples. “Nino, Kagami-”

She goes ignored as Kagami answers Nino. “The cook’s serving sukiyaki and salmon sashimi as a heads up if he has any allergies.”

Nino ponders for a bit.  _ Did  _ he have any allergies? Eh-  _ wait.  _ “Wait, he’s having dinner there?”

“Did he not tell you I’d invited him to dinner?” Kagami asks before she stops, and Nino wonders why that may be until he remembers that literally everyone else was listening in on their conversation with wide eyes and open ears. “I think we should hold this conversation on the way home instead, Nino. Shall we?”

Nino looks around at them before nodding towards her, prompting her to go on ahead to get her things from the locker room. As he goes to follow after her, he feels a tug on his wrist, and when he turns it’s Adrien who stops him.

“Nino?” Adrien asks. “You’ll… be careful, right?”

“Of course dude.” Nino promises with a smile before patting his hand and hurrying in the direction Kagami had gone.

Leaning over to whisper in her ear, Adrien mutters to Marinette, “Awful familiar situation, isn’t it, lovebug?”

“Oh, hush you,” Marinette laughs. “They’re hopefully not as bad as we were.” Pause. “...  _ Were  _ we like that?”

“A little.”

Marinette gives him a look that indicated that yes, they had been as bad as the other two.

“... Okay. Maybe a lot.”


	19. page nineteen: dress to impress

Nino was at least fifty percent certain he seemed like an utter fool right now.

Currently he was face down on his bed, his limbs splayed out spread eagle on top of the sheets, shoes haphazardly lying around on his floor and one foot halfway out of a sock while the other was still very much on. His cap was hanging on one of the bedposts while his headphones sat on its brim, while Longg just watched him from his seat on another bedpost. The kwami was just nibbling on what looked like canned tuna watching his chosen quietly fret with his equivalent of a raised eyebrow.

“You’re thinking too hard about this,” Longg points out.

Nino turns his head to give him a dirty look. “Gee, thanks Longg. Really appreciate you stating the obvious.”

“As is my duty to do so, when you overthink things.” The kwami gives him a kind smile before reminding, “It’s a dinner with the Tsurugis, not a wedding.”

“Yet again, thank you for reminding me, Longg, of the fact that Kagami had clarified that it was dinner with her mother, and not just me dropping by to listen to what her mom has to say. Great. Now I have to decide on what to wear.” Much to his chagrin, Longg lets loose a peal of laughter in response. “Thanks. Really, thanks. Making fun of me makes me feel  _ so  _ much better.”

Longg shakes his head. “No, hatchling. I’m not making fun of you for this, so I apologize if it came across that way. You simply remind me of one of Trixx’s former chosen is all. Why, there was a time where I’d meant to pay a visit to Trixx, but stumbled upon the chosen Fox fretting over what to wear to a meeting with the king of the land.”

“And?”

“The thing was that it’s incredibly reminiscent of you right now. Worrying over what to wear to dinner, when you’re arriving as your superhero identity with a predetermined costume.”

Silence.

Nino knows for certain that his face is bright red at the realization, but the embarrassment melts away in favor of genuine worry. “But I can’t just… show up to their house looking like…”

“Looking like…?”

“Well, like. ME! Like, Komodo me, I mean!” Nino flips over and sits up before furiously tapping on his phone and pulling up a photo of himself as Komodo on a recent news report. He points at himself. “Like I look cool, yeah, but  _ dude,  _ does  _ that  _ look like dinner wear to you?”

“To you, maybe.”

Nino gives Longg a withering look. “You were  _ not _ this sarcastic when we first met, dude.”

“I wager that would be your doing then, yes?” Longg replies cheekily, to which Nino groans. “Well, either way, Nino, you needn’t worry. You’re well aware that you can change your attire at will! Why not just simply imagine what you believe to be semi-formal wear before transforming just for tonight?”

Nino grimaces. “You  _ know  _ I’m no Marinette. I don’t have the braincells to desi-  _ MARINETTE!” _ His eyes widen considerably. “Longg. What if I got  _ Marinette  _ to design me something?”

“I  _ hope  _ you’re not implying you’re going to waltz into the Dupain-Cheng bakery to commission Marinette to design Komodo some semi-formal dinner attire a few hours before the actual dinner - all as Nino Lahiffe.”

“No! I’m not  _ that  _ much of an idiot, Longg, that’d  _ kill  _ Nettie!” Nino looked horrified at the idea of commissioning someone so last minute - and even  _ if  _ Marinette could probably manage it, he’d  _ never  _ live with himself if he did that to an artist. That was just  _ criminal.  _ “I’m gonna show up as Komodo in like a few minutes and ask if she has any ideas on what I could think of. She doesn’t have to draw me  _ anything. _ I’ll even bring money to pay her for her ideas.”

Longg taps his chin thoughtfully. “And if she does somehow insist on designing you something?”

“Good thing I saved up on allowance then, huh?” Nino slams his cap on his head. “Okay, we got like four hours, let’s swing on over to the Dupain-Chengs and hope Marinette’s on the roof!”

“That’s-”

“Longg, bring the storm!”

* * *

Admittedly, it  _ might  _ have been impulsive of him to suddenly drop in on Marinette’s balcony without warning, looking like he did, on a warm afternoon with no akuma to be worried about. But he couldn’t just  _ waltz  _ in through the front door. That’d probably stir up panic with  _ more  _ people. At least if it was Marinette, it was just one person, hopefully. He was counting on Adrien being at home this time and Marinette being alone.

Suspiciously enough Marinette didn’t  _ seem  _ too surprised to see him, judging from the way she squints at him when he perches on her railing - as though she was  _ used  _ to superheroes coming over unannounced. “Komodo? What are you doing here?” Marinette looks around cautiously. “... Did Chat Noir send you to watch over me? Is there an akuma after me?”

“What? No. Wait, you’re friendly with Chat Noir?” Komodo steadies himself on his perch atop Marinette’s railing. “You know what, I don’t need to know. How good are you with thinking up designs on the fly?”

“Uh. Depends on whether or not I’m having a creative block at the moment. Why?”

“I need semi-formal attire,” Komodo blurts out. “Tonight. Even just ideas. Actually. On what to wear later. N-Nino directed me to you when I asked if anyone could help me with this.”

Maybe he should be a little more concerned that he was able to refer to his civilian self a little too easily as a separate person. Should he? Maybe.

Marinette raises an eyebrow, and much to his confusion, stifles a giggle. “ _ Nino  _ directed you to me, huh?”

“Y… yeah?” What was so funny about him directing himself to his friend Mari- okay he could probably see how that was funny, but Marinette didn’t  _ know  _ he was Komodo… unless she did?

…

… Nah.

“Well, you’re in luck, because Ladybug and Chat Noir dropped by recently to ask me for something similar,” Marinette gestures for Komodo to follow her, leading him inside her loft as she says, “Something about making an appearance at an event hosted by Mayor Bourgeois at his hotel in a month or so?”

Komodo nearly falls off her bed as she climbs down the stairs that led to it. “An event? Why haven’t I heard of this?”

“... Oops,” Marinette mutters to herself before telling him, “Maybe she’ll tell you the next time you all meet up as a team? I don’t think I should’ve told you this, actually- aha! Get down here, Komodo, and do a turn for me.”

Komodo peers down at her from the loft. “Like. Down there? On the ground there?”

“No, I meant on the roof,” Marinette deadpans. “Please, Komodo? You’re the one who came to me for help, and this is my time being used. The least you can do is do what I ask.”

She definitely had a point, and Komodo needed at least five extra hands to count how many times he owed Marinette out of costume, so he slinks down to where Marinette was pointing for him to stand and does as she asks, turning slowly as Marinette observes him thoughtfully.

“Whose idea was the tail?” Marinette asks.

Komodo glances at his tail. “... Mine, I guess? Chat had a tail, so I figured-”

“Chat has a belt tail. Rena had a coattail. This is literally a tail.” Marinette silently asks permission to poke at said tail, which he allows, so she lifts it up with a hand. Surprise crosses her face when she does so. “Wow, it’s pretty light, actually. Might be some sort of cotton filling inside, but it’d pack a wallop if it hit anyone at the right speed. Do you need it in your semi formal?”

Komodo shakes his head.

Marinette nods, musing, “Thought so. Okay, give me like a few minutes to sketch something up, and we’ll see what we can sew up in a few hours.”

“Wh- no, wait, you don’t have to sew it up!” Komodo exclaims. “My kwami - he told me that all I have to do is think up the outfit when I transform for later tonight, and the Miraculous and him would do the rest. I’d be paying for your ideas and concepts and time but you don’t need to sew me anything!”

Marinette pauses, and then slaps her forehead with a palm. “Right, right, they mentioned this to me too before, I forgot. You don’t need to pay me though-”

“What!” Komodo glares at her. “You’re an artist. I’m not gonna walk outta here without paying you, du-pain-Cheng.”  _ That  _ was close.

Marinette smirks, raising an eyebrow. The gesture is strange on her face. “Ah, so we’ve regressed into calling me by my last name?”

“I will if you don’t accept payment,” Komodo answers stubbornly.

“Fair enough, but really, Komodo. The fact that you help Ladybug and Chat Noir save Paris is payment enough for me.” The designer props up her sketchbook on her lap. “Okay, do a turn again for me. I need to get all angles.”

* * *

By the time Marinette finishes ironing out the kinks in the design until she’s satisfied, it’s almost time for Komodo to make an appearance at the Tsurugi household. He pockets Marinette’s drawing before bounding over towards the Tsurugi home, stopping at the rooftop directly across from their house before detransforming behind a chimney.

Longg stretches as Nino gives him the rest of the canned tuna from earlier. The boy holds out the drawing as the kwami says, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a wonderful designer, if I may say so myself. I can most definitely make this happen.”

“Oh thank God,” Nino sighs in relief, peering down at the attire himself. Where his normal attire was hip hop with a hoodie and rolled up pants legs, this one reminded him a little of Felix’s usual attire with the black vest and muted red collared shirt underneath it, complete with a gray tie and black slacks. Marinette had taken care to maintain his mask and the choker that was his Miraculous in the design so as to continue to obscure his identity, so that was at least a comfort. She’d given him dark gray gloves as well, but she’d recommended he save that for the event she’d accidentally let slip was happening.

The vest was lovely, decorated with intricate golden trim Marinette had described as ‘like tiny golden flames on the edges’. She’d added the triad symbol of the Dragon’s powers too as like a badge on the pocket seated above his left breast, and like his normal hoodie the center of the vest had a very pale yellow division to resemble a dragon’s belly.

Longg coughs, prompting Nino to look up. “I’m ready if you are.”

“... Is my hair any good?” Nino asks him.

Longg laughs pleasantly, and pats his head with a stubby little paw. “You look fine, hatchling. I’m sure Miss Tsurugi and her mother will think the same.”

“Longg, bring the storm,” Nino murmurs, and Longg bows his head in response before disappearing into the jewel. The magic washing over him feels… different, somehow. A lot lighter, like a tickle of a candle’s flame than a burning fire. The paper with the design disappears from his fingers as Longg uses the memory of it to create the outfit as Nino and Marinette had envisioned it. Checking himself, Komodo makes sure that he didn’t think about the tail in his old attire before gearing himself up and doing a running leap onto the gate separating the Tsurugi home from the rest of the street.

_ Maybe I should’ve transformed on their roof,  _ Komodo muses ruefully, checking to see if he’d dirtied himself up. When it was clear he hadn’t, he drops down onto the path leading to the front door before walking up to it and raising his fist to knock.

_ Knock knock. _

He waits for a few moments, and briefly wonders if he should’ve brought something. Flowers? Did people bring flowers to dinner?

It’s Kagami who answers the door - and if the noise behind her is any indication, she’d fought her way towards being the one to do so. Komodo’s gaze flickers briefly behind her to see a maid hurrying off around the corner to avoid being seen before glancing back at her, noting that she wasn’t necessarily wearing semi-formal - but she wasn’t wearing very casual attire either. A smart looking deep red blouse with bishop sleeves and a Peter Pan collar paired with a black skirt and black socks definitely seemed on brand for Kagami in his opinion - though he was curious about the golden chain that peeked out from under her blouse. That wasn’t something he was aware of. Did her mom make her put on a necklace? Was that a thing?

Maybe he should say something, actually.

Komodo opens his mouth, and the only thing that comes out is a small, shy, “Hi.”

(In his mind, a tiny Nino had already buried a tiny Komodo fifty feet under for his idiocy.)

“Komodo,” Kagami greets before looking him up and down curiously. Despite himself, a blush colors his cheeks when he sees something like surprise and fondness sparkle in her eye, and he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “You’re a bit overdressed for dinner, don’t you think?”

Komodo tugs on his collar nervously. “I uh. It's dinner, right? Dinner at a place like yours… kinda sort of semi-formal might be needed… right?”

“It’s not like anyone besides me and the household help will see what you’re wearing,” Kagami notes in mild amusement, and it occurs to Komodo in  _ that instant  _ that  _ oh right, Tomoe Tsurugi was blind.  _ There went his plans to impress Tomoe. “But if it’s any consolation… I do think you look handsome in that.”

Komodo can’t help the grin on his face. “Handsome tonight? Not hot?”

“Don’t push it,” Kagami rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling as she opens the door all the way and lets him in. “You can put your shoes over there. We don’t wear shoes in the house.” Pause. “Can you remove them, actually?”

Komodo looks down. “... Probably?” Did Longg allow for socks in this thing? This wasn’t actually a thing they’d discussed beforehand. He’d forgotten that some households didn’t wear shoes in the house.

He slips off one shoe, and then another. Great. Longg  _ did  _ think ahead.

One of the maids offers him a pair of slippers, which he takes when Kagami nods at him. He notes that Kagami too is wearing slippers as she leads him to the dining room, where Tomoe was waiting at the head of the table. The plates and bowls had already been set up, though the food itself had yet to be served, and there was a choice between cutlery or chopsticks on the table as well. There was a flower arrangement at the center of the table - one that Komodo recognized faintly from the times Kagami had video called him while she was doing  _ ikebana _ . She’d been doing that one a week ago, hadn’t she.

Kagami bows to her mother - something that Komodo clumsily copies a second later before looking around. The table was set for three, but he wasn’t sure which side to take - at least until Kagami discreetly gestures to a seat to Tomoe’s right. With a grateful nod he takes his place as Kagami slides in to sit in front of him on Tomoe’s left.

“Good evening, Komodo-san,” Tomoe says, and the addition of a suffix to his name makes him blink in surprise. “Thank you for taking the time to entertain my request. I trust you had no trouble finding your way?”

Komodo shakes his head before remembering she’d only be able to sense that his head had moved, so he replies verbally. “I-it wasn’t any trouble at all, ma’am. I had help.”

“I see.”

It’s quiet for only a few moments before Tomoe addresses him directly again. “You seem different, Komodo-san. Lighter.”

“I- uh-” Komodo chokes back his stutter the best he can. Why did being at the same dinner table as Tomoe Tsurugi make him so nervous, anyway? “I dressed up for the occasion, ma’am. That might be why you think so.”

Tomoe raises an eyebrow. “You dressed up to go to dinner?”

“I… overestimated the dress code,” Komodo admits, sinking a little in his chair. He sees Kagami’s gaze flicker towards him briefly as she stifles a giggle before she looks back at her mother again.

With a shake of her head, Tomoe’s face maintains careful neutrality as she says, “It is a pity I cannot see it for myself, but I suppose Kagami being able to see it is good enough, yes? Let us have dinner, and then, we will walk, and talk.”

* * *

Kagami’s quiet during the whole dinnertime, Komodo notes, but it’s nothing too unusual. Kagami was a quiet eater whenever they had lunch together, only speaking up whenever there was a topic of conversation that interested her and she had something to say about it. At this dinner, however, no words had really been exchanged apart from Tomoe’s initial conversation with Komodo, so there hadn’t really been much of an opportunity for her to speak.

The salmon was good. If Longg was part of him at the moment, Komodo hoped that he was enjoying the salmon secondhand. He was sorely tempted to ask if he could get some to take home for his kwami, but only modesty and sheer force of will had managed to keep him in check for the time being.

When the meal is finished and the plates are cleared, Tomoe reaches for her  _ shinai  _ and goes to stand. “Komodo, yes? Walk with me in the gardens. Kagami, you’re free to go and change out of your clothes.”

“Are you sure, Mother?” Kagami’s eyes flicker towards Komodo’s briefly.

Tomoe nods. “I’d like to speak to him alone, Kagami. I will tell you everything myself later, but for now, be patient, and review your homework. This will not take long.”

Komodo watches Kagami purse her lips thoughtfully, but she doesn’t challenge it, and only murmurs assent as she heads for the stairs - but not before glancing down at Komodo halfway up the stairs. He meets her gaze head on, curiously, with an eyebrow raised and a mouth quirked up on one side, and Kagami only blinks at him before smiling and climbing upstairs.

Once he hears the sound of Kagami’s door shutting, Komodo realizes with a start that Tomoe had already gotten a head start and was already outside, so he runs and hurriedly slides on his shoes before tromping after Tomoe, following the stone pathway that circled the grounds in intricate swirls and curves. The steady  _ clack clack clack  _ of Tomoe’s  _ shinai  _ against the round stones serves to soothe Komodo’s nerves as he slows down to match her pace, straightening out his back.

With the moon high in the sky and its light gracing the crowns of their heads, Komodo would most definitely say that it was calm in the back garden of the Tsurugi house. While not as big as the one in the Agrestes’ mansion, the garden was big enough to allow for a reasonably sized fish pond to sit under a willow tree with a stone bench in its shade. There were many shrubs and flowers that lined the path they walked, giving Komodo the feeling that he was entering a sacred place - one that should be left as it was when he left the garden.

Briefly, his fingers brush against one of the many flowering shrubs, and he pauses to look at the one he’d touched. It had many, many petals - so many that he couldn’t even  _ begin  _ to count them.

“The eighteen scholars camellia,” Tomoe says over his shoulder, having noticed him pause. “Named for how most will grow eighteen buds on a single bush. In  _ hanakotoba, _ camellia can mean different things depending on their color. Red camellias are said to be for those in love, while yellow camellias will indicate longing for another.”

Komodo’s fingers dance across the yellow camellia he’d brushed against, feeling the delicateness of the petals. He’d heard of flower language before - his mother had mentioned it, and Rose had too. He wondered why Tomoe brought up the specific meanings.

“Komodo,” Tomoe says. He looks away from the camellias and at her. “Do not think for a moment that I am unaware that you visit my daughter on some nights.”

Komodo’s blood chills, but before he can respond, Tomoe glances at where she knows he is. “I can sense your tension. Be calm - I am not angry.”

“You’re… not?”

“Disappointed that Kagami did not trust me enough to tell me the truth about her nightly visitor, but I am not angry, no,” Tomoe frowns for a moment before muttering, “But that is not the reason I asked for you, Komodo. Have Ladybug and Chat Noir discerned the identity of Hawkmoth yet?”

What a strange question. But Komodo doesn’t say that out loud, instead choosing to ask, “No, ma’am.”

“... I see. Have there been any… efforts to narrow down his identity, then?”

Komodo shakes his head, and then adds, “There have been, but… it’s kinda hard to focus on that when you’ve got a civilian life too to keep separate from your hero life, y’know?”

“And yet you seem to find yourself drawn to my daughter in and out of costume.” Tomoe notes. Komodo chokes at her more or less confirmation that she had a good idea of who he really was, but before he can say anything she continues on. “It’s disturbing.”

“... What is?”

“That teenagers are being enlisted to fight a battle that might be beyond their ken.” Tomoe turns to face him all the way, and even though he explicitly knew she was blind, he felt like she was staring him down. “Your Hawkmoth is far stronger than you think he is, young hero. He is not someone to be trifled with.”

Komodo kicks over a small rock. “Yeah, we know, ma’am. He’s been around for a  _ while _ and we still can’t pin him down at all.”

“To pin a butterfly is serious business. In order to pin them properly, you have to get them to relax first,” Tomoe muses. Komodo looks up at her again as they continue to walk. “And a butterfly is most relaxed in its natural habitat. Of course, this doesn’t apply to butterflies already long gone.”

Komodo blinks at her, mystified. “Ms. Tsurugi?”

“I was almost akumatized again, once,” Tomoe says, and Komodo stiffens. “On my way home from a meeting with someone over a dangerous rumor accusing my daughter of being a harlot. But I did not succumb, and learned something important.”

The woman faces Komodo, and tilts her head towards him in a way that looked like she was staring him down, even if she really wasn’t. “Komodo. You are the successor of the heroine Ryuuko, wielder of the Dragon, and so I trust that this information will find its way to Ladybug soon. Listen carefully, and forget nothing. If you forget anything you hear tonight, then it will be for nothing.”

“I…” Komodo closes his eyes before nodding seriously. “I will.”

“On my way home from the Agreste mansion, an akuma found its way to me, and nearly transformed me into… Torikago, I believe,” Tomoe dictates. “But I refused. I refused, because the voice that spoke in my head was not at all unfamiliar to me. It was the voice of a man I once trusted, with a son I’d planned betrothing Kagami to until the contract became null and void.”

Komodo’s breath stilts.

“Komodo dragon, tell your Ladybug that your Hawkmoth is none other than Gabriel Agreste.”


End file.
